


Coming Home.  1-27/27.

by punky_96



Series: Wolf in Manhattan [3]
Category: Rizzoli & Isles, The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F, Werewolves, Wolf Pack, pack war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-05 15:39:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 52,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15173894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punky_96/pseuds/punky_96
Summary: Re-post from LJ.In this AU sequel to Caught Between the Moon and New York City, there is trouble in Miranda’s pack leading her on a journey to uncover the truth about her missing captains, runaway lover, presumed death of her twins and what the Facility has to do with it all.Character death:  Emily and Nate both die during the events of the story.





	1. Sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> Beta 1: many thanks to Jah728!!! Hip, hip, hooray for Jah!!!!
> 
> Beta 2: muchas gracias, Pdt_bear!
> 
> A/N: Th-th-that’s all folks! I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this little journey.
> 
> This started it all: https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/2291568.html
> 
> The prompt place: https://dvlwears-prada.livejournal.com/2465734.html?thread=18819270#t18819270

Coming Home. Part 1/27.

Easily clearing the wooden fence, her paws skittered for traction as her weight came down. Thankful for darkness, her nose raised searching for others. Sanctuary might be within reach, but it wouldn’t do to die on its doorstep. Her white fur glistened in the light of the nearly full moon. Usually smooth and unblemished, tonight blood was drying a rusty brown in patches that she could not even begin to think about now. Inhaling she quickly identified, female human, highest concentration the guest quarters in the back. Turning her head and taking a tentative step, she took in the lesser scents of the garden, nosy possum, sneaking raccoon, and lantana. The scent of two wolves coated everything and claimed it as theirs as surely as the name on the mailbox did. Letting her blue eyes scan the night dark yard, she considered this—only one name was on the mail, which begged the question of who the other wolf was—scented so familiarly everywhere on the grounds and oddly similar to the human not thirty feet across the yard behind the flickering glow of the television light in the shaded window.

Swallowing to wet her throat, she considered her options: sanctuary and the small promise of help or struggling alone and uncertain of anything. ‘How the mighty fall,’ she mused as she shook her head and let her body follow through all the way to her tail. She longed to curl up in a corner of the garden, her wolf form to keep her warm and somehow dull all the complexities of her human life. Catching a scent of the human female once more, the white wolf stepped out of the tree cover and limped across the garden, her paws scratching on the patio, until her human feet padded bare against the stone. Hitting the glass with a bloody palm, the naked woman crumpled against it as she let her palm slid in a squeaky descent to the ground beside the sliding door.

Her eyes closed as she fell into the haze of fatigue and adrenalin crash and she heard two voices, two women coming to the glass. Swallowing a fresh wellspring of fear, Miranda hoped that the click of the gun she heard on the other side was precaution and not a sign of the shifting times and the mirage of her safe haven.

The locking mechanism disengaged and she heard the glass opening. She smelled safety rushing out from the warm house to hold her like a blanket. The other one, the one with the gun was outraged, her voice a hiss of worry. “Maur, what the hell are you doing?” Blue eyes open now, she looked up into a once familiar face of concern and the barrel of a pistol.

‘It sure could have been worse’, the silver haired woman had to tell herself.

“Miranda?” She wasn’t a little girl anymore, nor even a sullen teenager, no, the voice was filled with the same honeyed base, but this was a woman now—a doctor. Miranda had never been so glad to see Constance’ adopted daughter. Maura kneeled down but didn’t get any closer as her eyes took in the naked, bloodied and bruised form of the woman in front of her.

Pushing herself up a little, Miranda covered her breasts with her arms. The gun kept pace with her movements but seemed steady instead of set to fire in her face immediately. “Sanc—” The words were cut off as Maura practically dived out of the doorway onto the naked woman.

“What the hell, Maura?!” The other woman asked in a hiss.

Wrapping her arms around Miranda as she awkwardly fell, Maura whispered against the bare white skin, “Lost One.” Pulling back quickly, Maura got her knees under her again and pulled Miranda’s hands from her breasts as she stood pulling the older woman up and accidentally against her body.

“What’s going on? Maura?” Miranda winced inwardly as she realized that the human female in the guest quarters had been roused.

The gun pointing at the ground, the brunette groaned at the new arrival. “Not now, Ma.” The final word drawn out in that way answered Miranda’s query of why the scents had matched so closely. Then they created many new questions of how she had mistaken her for a human, who they were and what relationship they were to Maura, and how that might effect her sanctuary and the sides she was always drawing whether she wanted to or not.

“Not now? What do you mean not now?” The outraged tone of an affronted mother, at the best of times, Miranda would have a hard time dealing with that emotion. Naked and beaten down by life, Miranda felt a twinge of fear shiver down her spine about what this mother would do. It was not a pretty thought after what she had already gone through that evening.

Hand on the gun as well as her friend’s hand, Maura pulled Miranda with her into the house. Jane would just have to deal with her mother—sanctuary was sanctuary. It wasn’t Miranda’s fault that she had tackled the syllables out of her. Maura had no idea how she’d explain that word in addition to the naked woman on her back doorstep.

Crossing the living room and heading down the hall, Maura and Miranda could hear the brunette talking to her mom. “I don’t know ma, she just showed up.” The aggravation and love rolled off the woman in equal measures forcing Miranda even in that moment to turn and look at her escort. Maura shook her head and kept them walking.

“Why’d ya have your gun then?” Her mother was not having any of it.

The whispered response to that question very nearly made Miranda laugh out loud. “Scary movie Friday.” It was clearly a shift in blame to the wavy brown-haired woman at Miranda’s side and a deflection.

Miranda realized this was undoubtedly a lie and in the next step she recognized what an untenable position she had put Maura in. The lunge to cut off her plea for sanctuary suddenly made sense as awkward as it had been for all involved. It was hard enough to be a neutral party, but lacking the ability to lie while living amongst humans so closely would have been almost insurmountable. In fact, Miranda wondered not for the first time how Maura had lasted as long as she had floating somewhere in the middle. Then again, she was apparently well protected and that was a detail Miranda fully intended to investigate.

Leading Miranda into the guest room, Maura unwrapped herself from the woman. Taking just her hand, Maura looked Miranda over from head to toe and then lead her toward the en suite. “Any injuries?” She asked quietly. When Miranda shook her head, Maura leaned against the doorframe and motioned around the room. Raising her eyebrows up in question she murmured, “Sanctuary.” Letting out a heavy sigh at the way of the world, Maura suggested, “Get cleaned up. I’ll put some things out for you.” Looking into Miranda’s eyes she added, “Stay in this room.” She tilted her head demanding a response.

Nodding her acquiescence, Miranda couldn’t help the half smirk she gave to Maura’s retreating back. Closing the bathroom door most of the way, she heard the beginnings of a different confrontation in the hallway.

“Who the hell is that, Maur?” The brunette might not have known about wolves, but she sure as sugar knew when to ask questions and protect. Adding that set of details to what she knew about the lanky woman, Miranda reached for the water, letting it warm against her fingertips.

“Miranda Priestly, editor of Runway Magazine.” There was the one-time adoration in her voice and Miranda smiled at how much time had gone by, but still how much love was still present.

The darker woman must have been about to protest further, as Maura reluctantly added, “She’s Constance’s friend.” Miranda could hear the grunt of wonder this statement caused Maura’s friend.

Constance Isles had obviously not learned any better how to interact with her adopted daughter. It pierced Miranda’s heart that the woman had still never reached that moment where her own were as important as whatever her passion of the month was—art, travel, socializing… Miranda knew she wasn’t much better in many respects, or she hadn’t been much better for a long time, however she had always regretted it and she had finally been able to focus on her family. Hearing the shuffle of the two women going down the hall, Miranda turned to test the water with her hand once more. The blood washing off her fingers turned the water red and Miranda had to physically hug her arms about herself in order to stifle the sob welling up inside her.

…


	2. Hurt Her.  I'll Hurt You.

**_Coming Home. Part 2/27._**  
  
Shattered—Miranda was utterly and completely shattered as she let the shower water spray over her. It warmed her from the outside in, but there was no hope for her heart, not anymore. Its destiny had been found in the fairy magic she hadn’t truly believed in, but that was gone like the fading sparkles of a dying firework as the ash fell from the sky. Miranda scoured her nails along her scalp, trying to lose herself in the motions and familiarity of routine—lather, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat… She scrubbed the soap into her skin as if to cleanse the very life out from her veins instead of just to rid herself of the residuals of the blood of others and cleanse her wounds for healing.  
  
Stepping forward so that the spray was in her face, Miranda let her tears flow. She wasn’t sure if she was hiding them or trying to drown herself—she was certain that she didn’t feel any better, but she knew it was a poor strategy as she’d lose consciousness and then slip away from the source of her suffocation. Turning the water off meant a return to silence and Miranda did it suddenly, like yanking off a band-aid just to get it over with. For now, she had sanctuary, but it wouldn’t last, not with the enemy she knew was lurking outside.  
  
Refusing to contemplate the brassiere and panties, Miranda slipped into the Armani pants and carefully pulled the zipper up the back of the shell covering her top. For the first time in many hours, Miranda felt strength returning to her body as the clothes meant for Maura’s slightly taller frame curved to her. In the absence of shoes, Miranda welcomed the longer inseam as she stepped away from the bed. Looking at the now shut door, Miranda sighed and turned back toward the bathroom. No point defying Maura’s carefully constructed boundaries before she had to. Hang up the towel, look for hair products, and snoop around—these were all within the limits so the silver haired woman started there.  
  
Given Maura’s methodical nature and profession, Miranda was not surprised to find such a well-stocked guest bed and bathroom. The scent of the brunette was there, yet certainly not as strong as it was in the main living area. Miranda surmised that while the brunette spent plenty of time here—it was not in the guest room. Continuing her inspection and trying to think about where she was instead of where she had been, Miranda noted that all the products were on the feminine side of the spectrum; though they were not girly. The other woman’s mother was staying in the guest quarters in the back. More information, she simply needed more information. Who was this brunette woman and what was up with the Lost Ones stumbling into her path all the time? Did they all suddenly change once surrounded by other wolves? The Fairy Prophecy had never said anything about this.  
  
Miranda looked herself over in the mirror—lacking make-up her busted lip and swelling eyebrow were more obvious. She could easily see the defeat and sadness in herself and knew that Maura would ask, would have to actually. Resting her palms on the cold marble of the vanity, Miranda closed her eyes and let her head fall forward stretching her neck and constricting her throat as she forced the air into her lungs. When she had repeated this process a few times Miranda rolled her head back and up until she was leaning back with her face towards the heavens and her hands on the counter the only thing rooting her to this time. Breathing was easier in this position, but her brain was rapidly clouding with what she wanted to know now, what she had to deal with, and what she did her damn best to not think of.  
  
Looking into her own blue eyes once more, Miranda nodded. This was her existence now, like it or not. If she wanted to end it, that was her choice, however while she was still here, she better keep moving. To that end, Miranda walked toward the door currently defining her given territory. Steps in the hallway alerted Miranda to the other women’s presence and she waited at the end of the bed for whatever was coming next.  
  
“Jane, I don’t know why she’s here, but you don’t have to worry, all right. She’s not selling illegal medicines in Africa.” Maura’s voice was as calm and sincere as it always was and Miranda raised an eyebrow in wonder that her drug smuggling status was being called into question. She had heard things about Boston, about that renegade do-gooder daughter of Constance’s, but she wondered if Sanctuary status had taken on a whole new meaning since the last time she had even considered needing it.  
  
The sigh of exasperation from Maura’s companion made Miranda smile. It was good that the sometimes socially fumbling Maura had such a loyal companion. “How can you be certain?” Miranda could guess that the taller woman would have turned into Maura’s path, trying to figure things out before she went into the guest room. Somehow Miranda thought this Jane was the dark to Maura’s light. Her smile dropped as she thought of the light to her dark and how it was gone; leaving her with just the darkness.  
  
“Miranda Priestly is like the Fairfields, Jane.” Maura’s gentle tone caused Miranda to once again wonder. “She may have done something awful, just like Garret, but she loves her power, her status and she wouldn’t do anything to put her position in jeopardy.”  
  
Taking the final steps toward the door, Miranda turned the knob and revealed herself. She appreciated Maura defending her; however, she didn’t want to make the situation worse for her friend once she had heard the whole story. After all, when there were predators like wolves involved, there was always prey somewhere. “Pardon me, Maura dear, would it be possible to get something to eat?” Deflection, it wasn’t a tool she used all that often, but why use a machine gun when a .22 would do?  
  
Brightening at the request, Maura tilted her head toward Jane as she sweetly announced, “As a matter of fact, yes Miranda, we were just coming to get you.” Maura turned on her heel walking down the hall with her back to the tall brunette.  
  
From the kitchen Maura could be heard opening and closing cupboards. Miranda wondered just how much Jane could hear. Andrea had always had fine hearing, but her skills had increased once she was around Miranda and the girls. Closing her eyes while she physically wrestled with the despair threatening to overtake her, Miranda didn’t see Jane turn to face her. Opening her blue eyes, Miranda was faced with a deep brown set of eyes that seemed to look endlessly through her, just like the eyes of her beautiful lost lover.  
  
“I don’t know who you are or why you’re here.” The strong set of Jane’s jaw added a ferocity to her beauty. However, it did nothing to intimidate the woman opposite her, which was infuriating. She ran her hand up and then through her long hair before settling on a warning. “Hurt her and I’ll hurt you.”  
  
Flashing her eyes wider and standing to her full height (which Jane thought shouldn’t have been intimidating, but it was) Miranda agreed with her, “Indeed in that case you should.” Then motioning her hand out, Miranda indicated her desire to follow Maura down the hall and the promised food. “Shall we?” The brunette’s gaze gave her another once over, and then she stepped to the side to let Miranda precede her down the hall.

 

…

 

 


	3. The News

**_Coming Home. Part 3/27._**  
  
Miranda concentrated on circling her fork in the pasta before raising a bite to her lips. Here she was, the leader of the Pack, sitting in a faraway kitchen relying on a relative stranger not knowing who to trust or what needed to be done next. Miranda closed her eyes as she swallowed her food and refused to acknowledge that there needed to be a next. Part of her wanted to walk out the front door and stand in the street with her arms raised outcome what may, especially if the end was swift. Maura sat opposite, the concern as evident on her face as the urge to question. Miranda swirled another forkful of pasta carefully concentrating on the noodles covered with red sauce. She was not worried about Maura, she was worried about herself and the tall brunette with the broody eyes leaning against the counter in her peripheral vision.  
  
The last time the danger had crept into her world this far, Miranda had found herself rescued by a young researcher for a company hell bent on studying and destroying the supernatural. Driven out to the middle of Ohio and hidden, Miranda had felt more than gratitude as pieces of her destiny clicked into place. Andrea had been revealed as her soul mate, her pack mate, an adopted mother for her children, and an invaluable ally in her efforts to push back The Facility and to unify her fractured Pack.  
  
Hand reaching up to cover her mouth and block the sob that wanted to escape and betray her, Miranda’s fork clattered to the plate. She could sense the other two women exchanging questioning looks. It didn’t matter and once again she was forced to physically push the urge to bolt from danger down.  
  
There would be no rescue now, no return to family, no healing the Pack, and perhaps no pushing back of The Facility. Miranda was it as far as she knew—betrayed and abandoned. Sucking in a lungful of air, Miranda stood, the stool scooting back along the floor with her motion. “I shouldn’t have come here.” Her eyes searched Maura’s and she knew she would not survive the anguish of explaining. In her heart she knew she wouldn’t be able to endure building a new life that would be bereft of love.  
  
Turning, Miranda made her way towards the front of the house. She had been in the back room, stumbling in through the living room. She may not have ever been here before, but she knew there were only so many options. Her feet felt the cold sensation of the tile entryway and she wondered at how she could feel that, when she was certain she couldn’t feel anything else. Maura’s footsteps echoed right behind her, but Miranda had her hand on the doorknob. “Forgive me,” Maura whispered as she put her palm firmly against Miranda’s bare forearm. The silver haired woman turned to look at the other woman, wondering what she meant and why she was holding that arm and not going for the doorknob. Then as the edges of her vision swirled and she felt her knees go weak, she knew.  
  
“Jane!” Maura quickly threw the plastic patch to the ground and grabbed at Miranda’s slumping body.  
  
Hovering nearby, Jane quickly joined Maura in supporting the lifeless body in the entryway. “What the hell happened, Maura?”  
  
Maura sighed as she tried to settle on what version of the truth she could tell. “Grab her feet.” When Jane had the other half of Miranda, she puffed, “Guest room.”  
  
Her brow furrowed Jane noticed the drug patch on the tile. “You drugged her?” She asked as they made their way down the hallway.  
  
“She’s a risk to herself, if not others.” Maura explained as she struggled with the unconscious woman in her arms.  
  
Jane clearly wanted to throw her hands up in the air and walk in a circle like she often did. She resisted the impulse because she didn’t want to drop the woman’s legs in her hands. “She shows up naked and bloody in the back yard, then she wants to leave and you drug her to keep her here.” Jane stopped moving which forced Maura to stop and look at her. They held eye contact for many moments each struggling with a variety of emotions.  
  
“Look, let’s just get her in the bed, then you can investigate, all right?” Maura knew she had to give the detective something. Jane would make up even crazier things if Maura boxed her out. Although, Maura knew that Jane would never believe the whole truth. Looking down sadly at Miranda Priestly, Maura wondered at what could have brought the woman so low. Truth was a deadly thing and Maura knew that the impulse to run had been an attempt to not deal with the sharp end of the stick. Looking back up at Jane as she concentrated on backing down the hall without bumping her cargo or falling down herself, Maura hoped that Jane would never have to know the truth, would never be faced with that choice. Maura wasn’t sure she could handle the ramifications to her world should it come to that.  
  
Maura frowned over the woman in the bed not wanting to leave her sleeping in those clothes and wishing she had more information. Miranda certainly wasn’t in the mood to talk, and she didn’t know what could be revealed in Jane’s presence anyway. She sighed. Jane would not be going anywhere until this was resolved one way or the other, which complicated things almost as much as it made Maura smile to know that Jane would ‘accidentally’ end up in her bed again. Sexual tension was tension, but Maura could not deny that she reveled in what she should never have anyway.  
  
If Jane never knew she was a wolf and if she never changed, (and those were big ifs) then Maura could hope that this chemistry between them could have a name and a taste and a feel. The thing was Maura knew that she’d never know if Jane would express her other self and so she could never spend more than a few moments in the bliss between them. It was like knowing the love of her life was just on the other side of Plexiglas that was part of the very fabric of her universe.  
  
“Come on, I need to find out what is up with this woman.” Jane had slipped up behind Maura and put her arm around her middle. Their mingled heat soothing as well as heartbreaking, Maura held Jane’s hand against her body. Then Maura nodded and led the way back to the kitchen holding Jane’s hand all the way.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Maura, for all the facts that she knew, could not fathom how her Friday Movie Night with Jane had become a frightening wake up call to just how lax she had become to the Wolf aspects of her life. She had made herself and her home an island of safety, a place of sanctuary for those needing a place to catch their breath before going back into the fray. The Packs had settled down and she had been left alone for far too long. She hadn’t needed to worry about sides or politics and wind blowing when she slipped into her human life so quietly that she was known in both worlds as ‘the queen of the dead.’  
  
Her wine glass kept her company on the table, but she had no thirst for it. Jane had propped herself uncomfortably on one of the stools firing up the laptop and searching. Maura knew that even if Miranda had done nothing, she was now a person of interest on Jane’s radar. After a while, Jane quietly moved her glass out of the way and set the laptop in front of Maura. “Look at this.” Jane indicated the laptop and her eyes were colored with concern now instead of suspicion. The screen revealed an online news article from earlier in the week:  
  
_DENVER – In the wake of last week’s deadly avalanche, authorities have released the names of twin girls, missing since that dreadful disaster. Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Krueger said search and rescue crews have been working long shifts despite the perilous conditions still present on the ridge. The girl’s avalanche beacons were found at the base of a tree, but no other trace of the girls or their equipment.  
  
The sheriff identified the missing girls today as Caroline and Cassidy Priestly, 15, of New York. Their guides were Tabitha Cruz, 36, of New York and Rick Folger, 29, of New York._  
  
Maura gasped as she looked up at Jane, who had slipped onto the seat next to her at the table. When their eyes had held for a few moments, Jane simply slid the laptop over and clicked on another tab. With a grim sort of sigh, she slid the laptop back to Maura who read:  
  
_NEW YORK – Nigel Kipling was confirmed by the Elias-Clark Board of Directors as replacement for Editor in Chief, Miranda Priestly. Rumors have been flying wild about the Devil in Heels since the assumed death of her twin daughters in a devastating avalanche in Colorado._  
  
_Trouble has been brewing for some time as her right-hand woman Emily Charlton walked out a week ago and has not been seen since. A source inside the halls of Runway said that a love triangle imploded right under Miranda Priestly’s nose. Our source indicated that Miranda’s bodyguard, McKenna Pearson, had been dating the Art Department’s Serena Azevedo Fernandes. However, the source said that the long time single Assistant Editor, Emily Charlton, just couldn’t stay away from the pair._  
  
The Devil in Heels did not respond to our request for comment. Her successor, the charming Nigel Kipling, only commented to the press that, ‘Runway is a family that takes care of its members.’ At his side Serena nodded solemnly before they climbed into the waiting town car. McKenna Pearson seems to have disappeared completely as has Emily Charlton.  
  
Perhaps Runway is a family that takes care of its own, at least until they run off together? Speaking of that: where is the lovely brunette who swept Miranda off her feet two years ago, Andrea Sachs? Hmmm.  
  
Maura felt her stomach somersault within its confines and lowered her face to her palms trying to grasp the web of betrayals, loss, vengeance, and pure unadulterated pain hinted at in these two brief articles that even at their best could only hint at what was going on below the surface. Nigel had succeeded Miranda at Runway; Serena was by his side; Emily had left under a cloud of questions, while McKenna had disappeared. Andrea was gone, but only mentioned in a gossipy way. The twins, Maura bent into herself her arms snaking around her middle as she knew there was no way for her to even come close to understanding the pain of what had happened to the girls.  
  
Jane pulled Maura to her, knowing that her stumbling words could do nothing for her friend. Sometimes all you had was the closeness of the one you loved—Jane didn’t know what most of the articles meant, but she knew it was bad and she could tell that it was wreaking havoc on the normally stoic calm of her best friend. For many moments, Maura inhaled the comfort of Jane’s smell, reveled in the feel of her arms surrounding her and promising protection and comfort. Then she righted herself, slowly pulling out of Jane’s embrace and pulling the laptop closer to her. There had to be more to this story, she might not be able to tell Jane about all of it, but she finally knew what Jane meant when she spoke about a ‘gut feeling.’ Clicking back to the article about the girls, Maura found a link to the original avalanche article where the survivors were listed. She took in as many details as she could before running into a brick wall. She felt Jane’s eyes on her confused but supportive. Opening a new tab, Maura googled Miranda’s mate, Andrea Sachs. Her eyes scanned, her finger clicked on images, and she processed as much as she could from the human sources. Her brain kept supplying vague details Constance had mentioned in passing over the last two years as she tried to force Maura to take an interest in Wolf affairs. Finally, she found a small article about Andrea’s origins as a scientist and her one-time boyfriend: Nathaniel Cooper.  
  
The other shoe finally dropped. Maura wasn’t sure where it landed or what it would mean, but she had found the thread that would undo more than just an ugly sweater. Few things spelled trouble better than a dead ex-lover at the scene of the Alpha’s presumed dead children—no matter how unlikely an avalanche was as murder weapon.

 

…


	4. Investigate Her?

**_Coming Home. Part 4/27._**  
  
Jane stood and backed away from Maura in disbelief. She leaned her back against the counter and wondered when exactly they had chosen to hop over the rainbow and into the Twilight Zone. Usually Maura was defending the socialites, yet now she wanted Jane to pull out all the stops to get phone records and all the dirt she could find on Miranda Priestly. The same woman, who had shown up naked on the back doorstep, was a friend of Constance Isles’, and Maura had drugged so that she wouldn’t run out the front door. To say Jane was bewildered would have been just the tip of the lost feeling she had as she stared at the woman who she loved with all her heart but thought she would never understand. “You want me to investigate her like a perp, Maura?” Jane flapped her hands up in the air aggravated and then rested her palms on her hips. “I just need to be clear here, because we usually end up fighting when I want to investigate your acquaintances.”  
  
Turning in her chair, Maura sat primly with her hands folded in her lap. She knew it would not make any sense to Jane that for once she was encouraging her to investigate an acquaintance. However, she couldn’t afford to take the time to pretend to fight Jane while she investigated. Looking over Jane’s shoulder was no way to get the information that Maura wanted. It had been over a week since the twins were presumed dead in that avalanche and if they were alive somewhere, then Maura needed Jane’s help to sort through the missing mate, dead ex-boyfriend, missing bodyguard, and suspicious captain gone rogue. Maura knew this was going to take some convincing on her part, but she would get the specific information she wanted much quicker by telling Jane what to look for rather than fake fighting her while she blindly looked into Miranda’s business. She could call Constance, but that was an option best left unexplored, probably for all of them. “This information points to a whole lot going on.” Maura waved her hands at the laptop they had been staring at for the last 45 minutes. When Jane just raised an eyebrow at her, Maura clicked on a picture of Andrea and Miranda holding hands, “Where’s Miranda’s missing lover, Jane?” Clicking to another image of the avalanche victims, including Nathaniel Cooper, Maura pointed, “Why was one of the avalanche victims the ex-boyfriend of Miranda’s lover?” In another few clicks she had brought up an image that conveniently showed McKenna, Serena, and Emily, before she followed up with, “How does her bodyguard go missing?” Moving the mouse over the red head in the same photo, she asked about her, “Why did she leave after the bodyguard?” Finally waving her hand back toward the guest room, Maura shook her head and quietly wondered, “How does she end up here at my door?”  
  
At first Jane’s jaw had dropped, then she had deliberately closed it. Her eyebrows kept trading positions of which one was up and which one was down. Maura felt Jane’s gaze on her like that of a hungry predator. Finally, Maura stopped talking and sat looking up at Jane hopeful. Jane leaned back against the counter crossing her right foot over her left ankle and then her arms over her chest as her mouth slowly spread into a knowing grin. Jane counted her heartbeats and wondered how long it would take for Maura to hesitantly ask her for a response. She had been after Maura for so long to follow where the details might lead and to ask the next questions and she was finally doing it. She wondered if this was what a teacher felt like when the student made some great stride in their learning.  
  
“Jane?” Maura stood and stepped closer to the brunette. She didn’t understand Jane’s silence or that beautiful little smile, but she sure didn’t want to lose Jane’s support, not now when she would need her so much.  
  
Holding up a hand with a pointed finger, Jane sternly agreed first and conditioned later. “I’ll do it, Maura.” Twisting her hand back so that the finger now indicated there was more, she added, “First, tell me what is going on in that head of yours, how does your gut feel, what’s going on?”  
  
Stepping closer still, Maura smiled and looked down at their feet as she reached out and brushed Jane’s arms where they were crossed over her chest. “Oh, Jane.” Shaking her tawny brown curls, Maura turned and leaned against the counter next to her friend, “I know, you’ve been trying to get me to do this for years.” She bumped her hip against Jane’s nearly pushing her off balance.  
  
The brunette glared at her and then they were both laughing easily. “So how much did you drug her?” At Maura’s indignant glare, the taller woman added, “Well, do we need to rig an alarm system? Tie a beer bottle to her toe or something?” When Maura stepped in front of her, her foot between Jane’s and ready to thump her on the shoulder, Jane added mischievously, “Or are you gonna sleep in the hall?”  
  
Deflated but amused, Maura blushed beautifully and it was all Jane could do to not press her palm to Maura’s cheek. “She’ll be out until the morning.” Maura’s look turned turbulent, “Although, she’s probably lost weight since I’ve seen her. What if I gave her too much, Jane?”  
  
Hoping for the best, Jane put her hand on Maura’s shoulder, “Well, can you OD on whatever you gave her? Like die OD?” When Maura bit her lip and shook her head no, then Jane squeezed her shoulder and added, “Then she’ll sleep later than she’s used to.” Stepping away from the counter, Jane enjoyed the feeling of their bodies pressed against each other before she turned Maura back toward the bedrooms. “Come on, I wanna get some sleep.”  
  
Maura reached back, finding Jane’s hand without looking and intertwining their fingers. Jane followed closely, her hand resting just right in Maura’s fingers. Neither could explain what was between them, though they each knew, however both took great delight in the fact that one outcome of this evening’s theatrics had been increased touching between them.  
  
They had just climbed into bed, when Maura tensed up with worry. Jane rose up on her elbow looking down at Maura with her soulful brown eyes. “If she gets up before us, ma will get her. Don’t you worry, Miranda Priestly won’t be going anywhere.” When Maura groaned, Jane laughed. That thought shouldn’t have been comforting considering how well Constance had gotten along with Angela, yet somehow it must have been because both women were sound asleep pressed against each other in moments.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Her eyes felt grainy before she even tried to open them. Knowing she was alive for another day did not exactly please Miranda. Yet, she took some small comfort in knowing she was warm, dry, and not in any serious physical pain. Reaching out with her arms and legs, Miranda explored the cloud nine bed she found herself in. Breathing in the scents of the place, Miranda clicked into recognition—she was at Constance’s daughter’s house after claiming Sanctuary. Blinking her eyes open, Miranda confirmed that yes, despite remembering a strong desire to leave she was laying in the guest bedroom of Maura’s house. Sitting up, Miranda wondered just what exactly had been used to change her mind. Grimly she knew she wouldn’t like the answer to that question. Not that she had liked any answers to any questions lately. Looking down, Miranda realized that she had slept in her couture and she nearly snarled at that. Maura knew better than to drug her and leave her to sleep in Armani.  
  
Wondering what the racket was in the kitchen, Miranda recognized that it was neither Maura’s nor Jane’s voices she heard singing in the kitchen. Deciding to take care of her most current needs, Miranda wandered into the en suite stretching her legs behind her as she went.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
“You’re still here?” Jane’s mother had an accent that amused Miranda greatly and endeared her equally as it was not affected in the least. This woman, who announced herself as Angela Rizzoli, didn’t have a fake bone in her body. She was genuinely glad to meet Miranda properly, eager to share some breakfast with her (including the most glorious coffee Miranda had the pleasure of in a while) and to boast about her daughter and her daughter’s friend in the sincerest way possible.  
  
Miranda may have had many questions upon arriving at Maura’s house and being cut off from saying the word ‘sanctuary.’ How delightful then that in the morning so many of those answers had been given to her by a beautiful, charming woman. At first Miranda had been affronted by Angela’s direct question, but she relaxed as Angela explained how she just loved meeting Maura’s friends and how Maura had become like a daughter to her. Inwardly Miranda thought that was a good thing, since Maura was a daughter to her, or would be as soon as those two kids got things figured out. The pull between them, even in Miranda’s state, was visible. She reckoned it had been similar when she and Andrea had returned from the wilds of Ohio and the Pack had met them. Sighing, Miranda pushed her plate away and hugged her mug of coffee between her palms. Andrea was gone. She had left before the news of the twins had come and then there was just such a void that Miranda had shut down. She just could not handle that much devastation all at once.  
  
Picking up on the mood shift, Angela pushed back from the table. “The girls will be up soon, I’ll get started on their breakfasts.”  
  
Miranda tried hard to shoulder past the devastation in her heart by focusing on what she knew and what she had just learned. Maura was the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts working in the Boston Police Department. That she already knew. It wasn’t a big leap to assume that Jane, the oldest Rizzoli, was a cop, but it was nice to have a full confirmation. Not just a cop either, Jane was an award-winning Homicide Detective. Maura was kind enough to let Angela stay in the mother-in-law quarters in the back and Jane was here more nights than she was her own place. It was amusing to watch this completely unguarded woman and feel drawn into the family. Miranda knew she could never be as warm as this woman, but she thanked her lucky stars that she had been a little more giving of herself than Constance.  
  
Miranda was saved from her derailed train of thought when Maura and Jane stumbled into the kitchen dropping hands once they crossed the threshold of the room. Despite herself, Miranda couldn’t help the smile that turned the corners of her mouth up.

 

…


	5. Followed the Beast Here to Boston

**_Coming Home. Part 5/27._**  
  
Breakfast was cleared. Maura sheepishly apologized for letting Miranda sleep in Armani, which amused Miranda far too much for her to get angry about, and then they sorted out some clothes to wear for the next few days. Angela made all the girls, even Miranda, promise to be home for dinner at six, and then she let Jane drag her away. Jane didn’t look very happy about it, Angela looked surprised, and Maura looked thankful. When they left Miranda looked at Maura until she confessed that she had wanted to talk to Miranda without the need for coded language. Which brought them around to the conversation that had caused Miranda to nearly bolt out of the house the previous night. Reluctantly, Miranda sat on the bed knowing that Maura would not be letting her get away.  
  
Narrowing her eyes at the younger woman, Miranda set a condition. “If I promise not to bolt, then you have to promise not to drug me.” Her blue gaze as intimidating as ever before, Maura lowered her head quickly and nodded. She hadn’t wanted to do that, but she felt obligated to do anything she could to help this friend of her mother’s who despite her own sobriquet had shown her more about humanity and fashion than Constance had.  
  
Maura stepped forward then and lowered herself next to Miranda on the bed. “We looked you up last night, Miranda.” She reached out and took one of Miranda’s hands in her own, not surprised to find it shaking within her grasp. “There’s a whole lot going on.”  
  
Miranda squeezed Maura’s hand and then stood, glad that Maura let her slip away. Pacing now, Miranda thought about how to start and found that she just couldn’t properly piece it all together. “What about Jane?” She stopped pacing and looked at Maura. “The magic of the Lost Ones seems to have worn off. Surrounded by wolves, they change. What if that happens, Maura?”  
  
Holding Miranda’s blue gaze, Maura tried to draw strength from it. In the end it didn’t work. It figured that the Ice Queen would ask the hard questions instead of telling her story first. Maura’s face crumpled with her worry and sadness as the tears welled up. “I don’t, I don’t know.”  
  
Returning to the bed, Miranda wrapped an arm around Maura’s shoulders. “That was why I tried to leave last night. I know what Sanctuary means to you, and I know that with my being here…” She trailed off and then went ahead and said it. “Wolves coming around could change everything.”  
  
Sitting in silence for a few moments, Maura pulled her head together. No matter what happened with Jane, they would find a way to make it work. Sanctuary was important to Maura, but that also meant providing it for Miranda. Straightening out her posture, Maura changed the topic back to Miranda. “Let’s deal with your crisis now, and then if there’s a Jane crisis, you can help me with it, okay?” Miranda and Maura exchanged a knowing look and Miranda couldn’t help but smile at the woman Maura had become.  
  
“She’s resilient, like Andrea. It should be fine.” Miranda meant to be comforting but knew that her sadness had crept into her voice.  
  
Maura patted Miranda on her thigh and gently suggested, “You want to start there?”  
  
Miranda shrugged, the obvious answer left unspoken between them, ‘no, I don’t want to talk at all.’ Letting out a sigh, Miranda pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “Andrea left a note with no details. I thought my world had crumbled until I got the call about the girls.” Miranda breathed in a ragged breath.  
  
Maura knew that no matter what she said it was going to hurt, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to begin. She supposed that this was what all those rules about ‘conflict of interest’ were about and she wished, though she shouldn’t, that Jane was here. “Were they on a trip or…” Maura couldn’t fathom the Priestly twins being kidnapped, but she had learned from Jane that there was always more than one explanation for things. Miranda nodded and closed her eyes, no doubt wishing that she had never let those girls out of her sight. “Who were they with Miranda? I know Tabitha, but who was this Rick?”  
  
Closing her eyes wouldn’t stop the tears, but Miranda hoped to keep them at bay as long as she could. “Rick worked with Andrea at the Facility. He protected—” Miranda sucked in a painful breath of air and started again, “When they took Caroline, he came to Andrea. He helped get my girl back and put himself in danger with those goons he worked for. He lost everything, but the Pack adopted him. Like Andrea, he changed within the first moon cycle of coming to us. Tabitha in particular adopted him. The girls wanted to go and they were both avid snowboarders. With Rick knowing the Facility and Tabitha knowing Wolves, it was going to be a great little adventure.”  
  
Maura tried to absorb what Miranda was telling her, but it seemed like two different tales were being told. “Caroline was abducted by the Facility?”  
  
Looking into Maura’s light brown eyes, Miranda smiled sadly and noted, “Constance said you didn’t keep up with Wolf business.” Maura blushed a pleasant color high on her cheeks but stayed silent. “My pack was divided by Stephen, I was captured by the Facility, Andrea rescued me, the pack was reunited against a common enemy in the Facility, during the process Andrea and Cassidy each turned for the first time, and the Facility kidnapped Caroline. In the end, we put the Facility out of business. Andrea was accepted as my mate.” Miranda summed up what had to have been a long story in a rush. It wasn’t until she got to the present that her voice faltered with emotion. “It had been over two years of peace, Maura, two years. I thought the troubles were over.”  
  
The silence stretched between them in the quiet of the guest room. It seemed that they had made some good progress, but Maura was thinking that Miranda would likely appreciate a fresh coffee to keep going. Besides, she was getting into this following your gut thing and she had more questions. “I make a mean cup of coffee. Want some?” At Miranda’s nod, Maura led the way.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
The sun had risen and the dining area was bathed in sunlight. Miranda wondered if she could turn and just live her life out as Maura’s pet laying in the sunbeam until she was too hot to bear it and went out to the pool. If she truly turned wolf and could forget about the human world, Miranda knew there wasn’t a chance she’d turn down the opportunity. However, her senses were heightened as a wolf and none of her humanity was washed away no matter how full the moon was or how wild the adrenalin through her veins had her feeling.  
  
“You left Runway?” Maura started quietly. She wasn’t sure how to control the momentum, pace, flow of information. Not for the last time she longed for Jane’s presence, except that as a non-wolf, at least officially, she couldn’t be privy to this information. Maura’s sigh matched Miranda’s on the other side of the table.  
  
Miranda scratched the back of her head for a moment with her finger and then waved her hand out and let it drop to her lap. “I could no longer perform the job. Nigel is more than capable.”  
  
Accepting that as fact, Maura decided to just go for it. There was no telling when Angela or Jane or both would return. “Was the human press right about Emily, Serena and McKenna?”  
  
Watching Miranda’s body language really had Maura wishing she was more adept at reading people in the moment, looking for those ‘tells’ as Jane would call them. “I don’t know. I can’t believe that one of my captains would betray me, Maura. I can’t believe what all these details mean. How on earth could there be this many thing going on at the same time? And an avalanche is a natural disaster so I am left with nothing.”  
  
Maura took a sip from her mug of coffee wondering how much Miranda knew, theorized and just plain shut out in her state of loss and shock. “Even if it’s insane, take me through it Miranda. You didn’t show up here, blood on your paws for nothing.”  
  
Maura saw the silver haired woman shiver and just hoped that she wouldn’t clam up now. She didn’t have any strategies for how to coax information out of people, and it wasn’t like Miranda was a criminal anyway. Letting out an aggravated breath, Miranda pursed her lips and then began. “Katherine and Samantha, two of McKenna’s associates finally came to tell me that McKenna had gone missing. At first, they weren’t sure, thought that she was at Serena’s or following a lead. They checked the usual places and then finally determined that McKenna was gone. They told me with tucked tails, but we had still lost two days. Serena was a wreck, staying with Nigel and then Emily. Serena alerted me at once that Emily had received a phone call in a panic and rushed off. A pack meeting was called at my house. I arrived home to a note from Andrea. I couldn’t even be sure of the time that she left. The next morning, I got a call from the Sherriff’s office there in Denver. Nigel and Serena came over, the Pack gathered around my house and Tabitha’s like they had two years before. I shut down. Nigel stepped in as he should.”  
  
Each detail dropped like the forceful recoil of a pistol being shot and Maura felt the heavy impact of each detail creating more questions than it had answered. It was strange to think that she might know more about what was going on than Miranda did. “How did you end up here, in Boston, fighting, and at my house?”  
  
It all had to be connected somehow, Miranda knew in her mind that it should be, that there had to be some kind of explanation for this unlikely series of coincidences. She wondered what Maura thought of her now, showing up at her house like a common thug with blood on her hands. “Two years ago, the CEO of Elias-Clark, Irving Ravitz, and my nemesis at French Runway, Jacqueline Follet, proved what kind of Weasels they were by colluding with The Facility in order to get rid of me.”  
  
Maura’s eyes went wide at this bit of information. She closely followed fashion and the business end of it in the news. She hadn’t realized that they were Weasels, nor had she thought about how Miranda had been caught by the Facility in her story from before. “And Boston?” The puzzle was taking shape, but she still needed to know why Miranda was here.  
  
“The Facility is like the hydra, Maura. You cut one head and two more rear up against you.” Miranda took a sip of her now cold coffee. “We destroyed what we knew of it, what we could see and attack.” She sighed regretfully. “It took a long time, but the beast returned.” Miranda swirled the coffee in the bottom of her mug and then downed it. “I followed that beast here to Boston.”  
  
Maura watched as the woman grimly set her coffee cup down on the table. “You went alone.” When the silver haired woman nodded her head, Maura added, “You weren’t coming out.” Again, Miranda fixed her with a nod and an oddly peaceful look.  
  
The key turned in the lock of the front door and then Angela’s voice was heralding out into the quiet house. “Hello, hello.”

 

…

 


	6. Wolf Dreams

**_Coming Home. Part 6/27._**  
  
Thankfully Angela had only stopped by to drop off some purchases and she was heading out again. They shared a light lunch and Maura was filled with a strange sense of this being her family as well as Jane’s. It was odd she supposed since Constance wasn’t around and Jane was still out, but she supposed that Miranda represented people similar to her mother and if she could get along with Angela, then there was common ground to be found. She wasn’t sure why that mattered since Constance Isles didn’t visit that often and didn’t care one way or the other, but somehow it mattered to Maura. With a kiss on the cheek and a hug, Angela made her farewells and drew out another promise of being home for dinner. Maura agreed to tell Jane again when she spoke to her. Then the woman was gone.  
  
Wanting a brief rest, Miranda put off further talking as she headed toward the guest room. Maura listened as the other woman closed the door and puttered around in the bathroom and the bedroom before quieting down. They had come a long way, but Maura wasn’t sure where they were going.  
  
Stepping out onto the back patio, Maura held the cell phone to her ear waiting for Jane. She hoped that the other woman had found something of interest, or that the information she had gleaned would help her find direction.  
  
“Rizzoli.” Jane answered in her usual brusque way and Maura smiled on the other end of the line. “I can hear you smiling.” Jane scolded her with amusement in her tone in return.  
  
Suddenly squirmier than she had been in Jane’s presence in a long time, Maura twirled her body in a little circle before she stopped herself and sat down in one of the chairs. “Hi.” She blushed as the word left her mouth followed by silence.  
  
Jane’s low chuckle made her embarrassment worth it. “I put a call in to a buddy up in NYPD. He said that while her second ex-husband had died under suspicious circumstances, and she was generally thought of as a royal bitch, that Miranda Priestly was clean. She’s a big fashion celebrity and quite the business woman. Did you know she’s the partial owner of a swanky hotel in Manhattan?” Jane shook her head and Maura indicated that she remembered Constance mentioning that a year ago. “Well, she’s pretty quiet for such a public person.”  
  
Maura took advantage of the pause to ask about the other people key to Miranda’s life. “How about any of the others? Andrea Sachs. McKenna Pearson. Emily Charlton. Tabitha Cruz.” Maura rubbed her fingertips together as she tried to remember the other one’s name, the guy who worked with Andrea at the Facility. Then it clicked, “What about Rick Folger?”  
  
Jane chuckled, Maura would have been a good detective if she was always like this. For some reason, Jane found her attraction for Maura flaring up more than usual. At first, she had thought it was jealousy or protectiveness given the strange woman who had shown up the previous day. However, just talking to Maura gave her more than the usual thrill and they were across town from each other. Besides it was clear that jealousy and protection were not what Maura needed in relation to this woman. If anything, the other woman might need protecting if the brokenness was anything to go by, or the ease with which Maura had drugged her. “Frost is working on them, seeing if their credit cards come up or anything.”  
  
Maura stood back up and tried not to reveal her shock at this. They couldn’t get the whole team involved. This was bad. “Frost?” She squeaked knowing that Jane would just laugh at her.  
  
Scuffing her foot as she looked down to watch her foot, Jane assured her. “Relax. He called me for something else. He just typed some stuff in on the computer and now we are doing other stuff.”  
  
Sitting down again, Maura sensed that the conversation was almost over, but wanted to keep Jane on the line. “Thanks, Jane. I’m really glad that you’re helping me figure out what is going on.”  
  
Had they been in the same place, Jane would have taken her hand or wrapped her arm around Maura, and it showed in her voice. “Maura, you know I’d do anything for you.” The petite doctor held her breath wanting to squeeze Jane’s hand or lean into her touch. The silence hung heavy between them until Jane spoke to someone else and then came back to Maura. “I gotta go, Maur.”  
  
Nodding Maura, remembered Angela’s request. “Don’t forget your mom wants you here for dinner at six!”  
  
Jane rolled her eyes, but there was no way she’d disappoint Maura. “Okay. I’ll see you later.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Miranda used the facilities, washed her hands and face, and took a hard look at herself in the mirror. She could not stay here indefinitely and the longer she was here, the more likely it was that the Facility would catch up to her. She was putting Maura in danger. Sanctuary was fine for wolves, but it held no sway with the humans. Her pack was in disarray, or fractured somehow, but they didn’t seem to be outright coming after her. It seemed that she had simply come here because it was a safe haven and she had wanted that to mean something. Miranda lay on the bed without changing out of her borrowed clothes into the pajamas Maura had left for her. She knew that she would not be able to sleep.  
  
After what seemed like hours, Miranda woke from a light sleep, only then realizing that she had drifted off at some point. Apparently, her mind had accepted this place of refuge, even if it was only temporary. Miranda returned to the bathroom and then went in search of her host.  
  
Looking up from the laptop, Maura smiled at her guest. “Want some coffee?” She suggested as she motioned for Miranda to sit next to her.  
  
Settling in next to the younger woman, Miranda waved her off. “There’s no rush. What are you doing?”  
  
Miranda had leaned back in the chair and Maura turned to look at the other woman. “Research.” She said with an enigmatic smile. Huffing Miranda asked about what and then sat bolt upright when Maura said, “Nate Cooper.”  
  
Maura lowered the lid on her laptop. “What do you know about him?”  
  
With a disgusted look, Miranda spoke in a low dangerous tone. “He worked at the Facility with Andrea. They dated for a time.” At Maura’s questioning look, Miranda continued. “When I was in custody as a Wolf, he tortured me.”  
  
Maura’s brow wrinkled in confusion at this and she asked, “She was still friends with him? Like Rick?”  
  
Her head shaking the negative, Miranda explained, “No, neither of them was friends with him or any of the other Facility people. Andrea stopped Nate from torturing me before she even knew who I was. Rick left the Facility when he realized what Nate and his team were going to do to our Pack.” When Maura looked like she was going to interrupt, Miranda leaned forward and added, “When Andrea went in there to get Caroline out, she was confronted by him. By then she knew he was of the Lost Ones and she had developed enough control of her change to call up his wolf. She left him locked in one of his own cages for his people to torture.”  
  
Maura’s eyes went wide at that, and she reached forward and brought up the last article she was reading. Originally, Maura had thought that somehow Nate and Rick had lured Andrea to betray Miranda. She wasn’t sure what she thought now, but she knew that wasn’t it. “Did you know Nate Cooper died in the avalanche that they think took your girls?” She motioned to the screen and pushed the laptop toward Miranda.  
  
Squinting and leaning forward, Miranda missed having her reading glasses. “I didn’t know.” Miranda sat back focused on her breathing as her heart beat double time in her chest. She had always wondered why her girls were missing and not found. Even dead their bodies should have been found—they had found their avalanche beacons easily enough. She had cursed herself for being so dark in her thinking and simultaneously had forbidden herself to take any hope from that fact.  
  
Miranda stood, took three steps and then stopped. She was going. That’s all there was to it, she was going. Only she realized that she had no idea where she should go. The avalanche had happened in Clear County out in the backcountry weeks ago. She could get to Denver, probably even to the avalanche site, but what good would that do her. She didn’t even have her reading glasses. She couldn’t get anywhere. Sobbing, Miranda collapsed to the floor in a renewed sense of overwhelming despair and hopelessness. She couldn’t do anything again, and she had perhaps wasted time that could have helped, well, she didn’t even know what it would have helped, but it was wasted now.  
  
Maura crashed to the floor on her knees and pulled the sobbing woman into her arms. “Shh. Shh.” Maura consoled her as she swayed side to side with the woman in her arms and pet her hair and her arms. After many minutes of despair, Miranda quieted in Maura’s arms. The silver haired woman wrapped her arms around Maura and thanked her in a pathetic murmur. Once Maura felt that Miranda could actually hear her, Maura explained her thoughts. “Angela will be starting dinner soon and you can go lay down some more. After dinner, Jane will let us know what she was able to find out today. I’m guessing that you haven’t had a chance to run down a lot of leads. Jane put in some calls and hopefully we will be able to decide on some kind of plan.”  
  
Pulling away, Miranda looked so forlorn. “I’ll have to get my things. I had left a car with my things. I shouldn’t,” Miranda was scattered and not even able to get out all of her ideas, her mind was in such a tumult. “I can’t pull you into all of this. Your Jane. I shouldn’t have come.”  
  
As she stood, Maura turned and offered her hand to Miranda pulling her up as well. “Listen, you’re supposed to be here. Things happen because they are supposed to. If Jane changes then I’d rather be around you to help her than strangers. I don’t know enough about the Wolves here to really help her.”  
  
Staring at her, Miranda couldn’t believe the words coming out of the younger woman’s mouth. She sounded so full of life, optimism, and determination. She reminded her so much of her Andrea that it was truly heart breaking. “If she starts having dreams of running with the pack or other wolfy things, then check the lunar calendar.” Miranda hoped that she could help Maura although she wasn’t sure about how she could, given the sad state she was in. When Maura didn’t say anything, Miranda’s eyes widened. “Already having them?”  
  
“She’s had wolf dreams since she met me, but last night’s dream was incredible.” Maura felt odd, like she was sharing one of Jane’s secrets.  
  
Miranda pursed her lips in thought. “And your dreams parallel?” Maura nodded. Miranda tilted her head a little and then hoped it was encouraging, “Full moon was two weeks ago as you know, so you’ve either got two weeks or a little longer.” Thinking of first Andrea, then Rick, Miranda added, “My girl would say we don’t have enough data for a pattern.” Her smile faded as she thought of her Andrea. “You’ll have access to her notes, if you want them.”

 

 

…


	7. Ask Your Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yeah, so I’ve watched Season 1 of R&I and I want to use the characters the way I want them… so while Angela and Frank, Sr. are divorced and Angela is hanging out with Korsak… I think I’m going to just have Paddy Doyle as Maura’s known birth-father, sometime protector, and not in jail. I remember a preview for Jane shooting him and figured there’d be a lot of angst there and then never watched it. So… AU, I guess.

**_Coming Home. Part 7/?._**  
  
Gathered around the table, the women lost themselves in the companionship of a good meal with good people. Sharing stories, scolding each other playfully, and generally keeping the darkness of the world at bay, the women actively stayed upbeat and positive. Delighted to learn more about Maura from this stranger, Angela kept her questions at bay. She did keep them in her mind and would corner Jane when she had the chance, but for now she was content. They sat side by side at the table instead of one person on each side and Angela couldn’t help but notice that Jane and Maura were closer than they had ever been before. She had never really wanted to think about it, but tonight as she enjoyed the evening of family (for that is what it truly felt like) Angela just accepted that her girl was in love with another girl. Like her questions about Miranda, Angela knew she had some, but sitting back with her glass of wine and listening to Miranda tell a story about a younger Maura, Angela decided she wasn’t going to bother cornering Jane.  
  
Awkwardly, Vince Korsak showed up at the end of dinner. Angela was mad at him, but not really and Jane just shook her head and told them to go work it out. He had flowers and he really was just so earnest in his desire to talk to Angela. Really Jane couldn’t do anything except roll her eyes. Thankfully, he convinced Angela to go out for coffee, leaving the other three in peace.  
  
“How was your day, Jane?” Maura couldn’t help prompting her friend to tell them what she found out. When Jane’s eyes went wide and she barely shook her head in Miranda’s direction, the silver haired woman laughed. Saying something about, ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ the older woman had taken her dishes into the kitchen and then wandered down the hall. “It’s okay, I told her you made some calls.” Maura assured the brunette with a hand on her thigh.  
  
Settling her hand on top of Maura’s felt so right, but she was still frustrated with the other woman. “It’s not much of an investigation if you tell the person what you find out, Maura.”  
  
Maura smiled at the broody woman next to her and then pushed away and stood. “If we were investigating her for a crime, then I would agree.” She gathered her dishes and turned toward the kitchen. “I just think that she’s gone through a lot and maybe doesn’t even know what all is going on. That’s why I wanted you to check things out, Jane.”  
  
Frustrated Jane piled her silverware on the plate and brought it over to the sink as well. “Did she tell you anything, Maura?”  
  
Pointing to the counter, Maura made Jane put her dishes on the side instead of in the sink. “She said that Andrea left a note, but no details. She didn’t know that Nate Cooper was a victim of that avalanche. She said that they were not amicable with him, not even that Rick guy that worked with them originally. Her bodyguard went missing, but it took days before the other security personnel confirmed that as they thought she was working on something else.” Testing the water with her fingertips, Maura added soap and watched it bubble up. “She said she couldn’t focus on the job, so Nigel her second took over.”  
  
Jane slipped the silverware into the bottom of the sink to let it soak. Then she began handing Maura the plates one at a time. She wasn’t sure when they had developed this system, since they didn’t always hand wash the dishes, but she felt like they had always done it. Eventually she would step around Maura to the other side and take up the kitchen towel to dry things and put them away. Her mother always used too many dishes to let them just air dry—there wasn’t enough room in the little dish rack. “What about that Emily Charlton? Did she talk about her?”  
  
This was a new dance between them, they constantly worked on things together, but this time they were almost coming at it from different directions. Perhaps, Maura mused because this was sort of her case and Jane was supporting her. “She only said that Serena was staying with her after McKenna went missing and that she received a phone call and took off.”  
  
Jane nodded as she handed the last plate to Maura and scooted the other dishes closer to the sink. On the surface everything seemed legal, but there were just too many coincidences for Jane. She wondered what caused Maura to ask so many ‘hunch’ questions for the first time. She knew that Maura couldn’t lie to her, so she wondered what it was that they both didn’t know about. “They all went missing and she came down here to Boston?” Jane moved over and grabbed the dishtowel.  
  
Maura paused as she circled the back of the plate with the sponge but kept going. “We didn’t get into that much, but I think she left a car somewhere with her stuff in it.”  
  
Focused so entirely on each other, neither woman noticed Miranda’s quiet approach. “I had business dealings with an investment associate here in Boston.” Miranda stood tall as the other women turned to look at her. She knew that she could tell Maura everything, and she didn’t doubt that eventually she could tell Jane as well, however for now what she said next needed to be careful if not clever. “Then I went and had drinks with an old friend.” When Maura’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head, Miranda nodded ever so slightly.  
  
Jane draped the dishtowel over the dishes already in the plastic rack. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed a disbelieving stare on the silver haired woman. “Don’t suppose you want to elaborate on your business or who the associate was?” She crossed her right leg over her left as she settled in for this conversation. “And this old friend, anyone we know?”  
  
Miranda knew that Jane was fishing, but she probably wasn’t prepared to land something very big here at the beginning. Usually it took a little while, with each person circling the other, some feints and parries, before finally there was a slip up or a decision to trust and then information was revealed. However sometimes you just had to drop a bombshell so you could skip things like showing up naked and bloodied. “Actually, you know him rather well, I think.” Miranda leaned against the doorway of the kitchen. “Patrick Doyle.”  
  
In the sink, Maura fumbled the silverware and it clattered back to the bottom of the water. Not taking her eyes off of Miranda, Jane reached out and shut off the water. Maura flipped it back on to rinse her hands and Jane turned to look at her. Reaching behind Jane, Maura took the dishtowel and dried her hands. “I didn’t know that, Jane.” Maura made sure to look into Jane’s eyes and hold her gaze steadily. She was so thankful that she hadn’t known that until now.  
  
Jane’s brown eyes searched Maura’s and she found herself wanting to stop time and just talk to Maura, to protect her, to understand why this woman was so important and how she was connected not only to Constance, but now to Paddy Doyle. Swallowing hard to choke back the emotions that were swirling up around them, Jane nodded her head. Maura hadn’t known that piece of information until now, and she had to wonder about Miranda even more than she had before. “You end up in a bar fight with him, lady?”  
  
Now Jane had switched to confrontation and Miranda felt the shift within her as well. This she could handle. Emotional outpourings over the last few weeks had been exhausting, but this sparring with Jane, she could sink her teeth into. Idly she wondered if she would have to. Maura had said she’d rather Jane learn about being a wolf from her, and that’s when Miranda realized that the head wolf around here was Patrick Doyle. “He didn’t like the questions I was asking. Thought he could humiliate me by dumping me out with nothing and naked.”  
  
Jane leaned closer to Maura who had her back to the counter now to face Miranda. She just needed to be close to her, to feel her warmth. “That’s it?” Jane queried thinking of crime scene photos that suggested this was getting off lightly. “You know, because he likes the rough stuff.”  
  
Miranda laughed at that and stepped back in to the kitchen and then over to the dining table. Turning a seat around she settled down in it, crossing her legs and relaxing. “We’re old friends. I’m not local.” Miranda waved concerns about Patrick Doyle away with her hand. “I think he felt sorry for me.”  
  
Jane stood to her full height and advanced toward Miranda. “Did you come here because Paddy Doyle won’t harm Maura?” In another time and place Miranda would have had Jane’s face to the floor, her teeth on her neck, in an instant.  
  
Not wanting to escalate, and not needing to, Miranda looked up at Jane. She let the silence build between them acknowledging Jane’s unspoken words and challenging them with her own posture. Letting her gaze flitter over to a nervous Maura, the silver haired woman considered her words carefully. “Patrick has no reason to harm me, nor to come looking for me.” Miranda paused letting the certainty of her words sink in. “I would not come here to hide behind Maura as a beacon of safety. Whatever kindness he extends toward her, would not apply to me.” Miranda looked Jane over, knowing that she had information for her and wondering about the best way to get it, since she was being regarded as a criminal. “I came here because it was the first neutral place I could think of to go in my humiliated state.”  
  
Maura approached Jane but did not touch her or try to talk to her. This was between her friend and her guest, whether she liked it or not. When neither spoke for many moments, Maura began to worry.  
  
“Detective, please, join me. Ask your questions.” Miranda motioned to the other chairs at the table and then rose to turn her seat around. “I wonder what it is that you found out today that makes you so suspicious of me?”

 

 

…


	8. Why not call the authorities?

**_Coming Home. Part 8/27._**  
  
Jane growled but came forward to sit across from Miranda. “I didn’t find a damn thing, lady, and you know it.”  
  
Gasping Maura stepped forward, but when Miranda held her hand up, she fought her urge to defend Jane. She was always suspicious, and if it was anyone near Maura, then it was worse. She knew what Miranda was capable of and so she still fretted as she sat next to Jane. “Too many coincidences near my person for you? Too many good things happening to one woman? Doesn’t add up for you, does it?” Maura wasn’t sure what was going on with Miranda, but she recognized that the woman was rousing to a fight. As much as she didn’t want her to fight with Jane, or God forbid Paddy Doyle, Maura took it as a good sign that Miranda seemed to be filling with air once again. “Especially when you come home to Maura and find out that I know Patrick Doyle.”  
  
Jane was fuming next to Maura, mostly because the cool collected woman across from her was right. Maura slipped her hand onto Jane’s thigh and she couldn’t help reveling in the comforting warmth of Maura’s palm. Part of her recognized that she was reacting stronger than was strictly necessary, yet it was strange the way that Miranda welcomed her scrutiny without flinching. “What did you go see him about?”  
  
Flashing across all the problems weighing on her, Miranda tapped each of her fingers on the table once in succession. “Andrea ran off, the twins are presumed dead, Emily also runs off—I have no information to follow. There is nothing for me to fight with if my lover leaves me, or the mountain swallows my children, or my assistant chooses to run off.” Miranda sucked in a ragged breath of air not wanting the tears to begin again. She didn’t think she could handle being pulled under by the rising tide of sadness again. “McKenna, she was from Boston. She had hinted at some sort of trouble back home. I couldn’t do anything about what I wanted to, so I worked on something within my reach.”  
  
Jane nodded. She could imagine her mother throwing herself into the most insane of projects if she had lost everything at the same time. Loss did strange things to people. “Why did he rough you up?”  
  
Miranda blushed faintly and drummed her fingertips on the table once more. She sat back and sighed. “I may have accused him of harming her. He may not have liked that.” Miranda sat forward flexing her fingers into a fist and then back out again. “Not my best moment, I assure you.”  
  
Disbelief colored Jane’s outburst, “You hit him? You hit Paddy Doyle?”  
  
Miranda tried her best not to laugh at the detective’s incredulity. “I assure you that I paid for it, but yes, I did.” Between them Miranda felt the energy shift, there was a grudging respect growing from the dark detective.  
  
“Miranda!” Maura was shocked at the older woman’s behavior, though she had to admit that she seemed to be winning Jane over little by little.  
  
Looking at her host, Miranda scoffed, “Oh, he’s fine, Maura.”  
  
Smirking at Maura’s outrage, Jane followed up. “And your other business in Boston? You left your position at Runway…” Jane left off signaling for Miranda to take up the thread.  
  
Clasping her hands together on the table, Miranda leaned forward and showed the tiniest of smiles. Jane found herself oddly attracted to the edge of Miranda’s canine teeth that showed briefly. “As you know, Detective, I’m part owner of the Luna Hotel in Manhattan.” There was that wolfish smile again and Jane found herself smiling in response. “It’s been quite lucrative and we have been approached about opening a boutique hotel here in Boston. Little Luna will be a nice addition to our group’s portfolio.”  
  
Jane shrugged almost apologetic, but still needing to ask all of her questions. “Why would you leave your position at Runway and then go out on this business meeting on your own?”  
  
Nodding her agreement, Miranda answered easily as she leaned back in her chair once more. “I could not oversee the day to day operations of the magazine. Too many details, too much politics, and too many people looking at me with questions or pity—it was too much. Truthfully, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back, despite what you may have read in the press. Nigel knows that this may be permanent. He will be perfect to replace me.”  
  
Maura started and then stopped her question half way. “I thought you wanted…”  
  
Raising her eyebrows and taking a deep breath, Miranda answered sadly. “Yes, I had hoped that Men’s Runway would launch with Nigel at the helm and Emily would take my place at Runway. It seems that won’t happen now.” Pointing at Jane, she added to her answer. “To answer your question though, no one could do exactly what I do. While I may not feel up to the daily grind of editing at this point, I can still sink my teeth into a business deal, especially if it will leave my people in a better place when I am gone.”  
  
Silence seemed to settle over them, this time with a sense of progression between them as they each wondered what the other was thinking. Miranda hoped that she had proven herself to Jane, who she sensed had information she wanted. Maura had told her that the detective had put calls out during the day, so she seemed certain that if she could just get the other woman to open up, that she’d have something new to puzzle over, or a new fight to pick. She hungered so deeply for something to cling to. It made the despair less in the quiet moments when the faces of her children or Andrea, even McKenna and Emily would float to her memory. Maura thought that if Jane was to become a wolf that Miranda would be the best mentor for her. Watching the way that Miranda handled Jane’s inquisition without acting put upon or offended just proved to her that if she had to select a Mistress, that Miranda would be the one. She admired that Miranda had not shown once that she would have preferred to take Jane down a peg or two—either in human or wolf form. She knew that the woman was a formidable presence either way. For her part, Jane wondered just how much more her life was going to be disrupted by this silver haired woman. The more bits of information that she got, the more that she thought that it was all connected and that natural disaster wasn’t as natural as that word natural implied. Knowing that the lives of several adults were in jeopardy, not to mention the twin girls she had now seen photos of, Jane knew she couldn’t keep her information to herself. She also knew she could not deny Miranda wanting to go check it out. Would it end there with a trip to the airport to send Miranda on her way? Jane thought not.  
  
“Maura told you that Nathaniel Cooper died in the same avalanche that took your daughters?” Jane looked at Maura and then Miranda. Fingers squeezing her thigh told Jane what she needed from Maura and that the conversation went okay.  
  
From Miranda’s grim look, she realized that the woman was beginning to rethink the naturalness of this disaster. “Yes, I only focused on the girls and did not realize he was there.” Pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, Miranda added, “We’ve been unable to reach Tabitha or Rick. Maura showed me today that they notified the sheriff that the girls were missing, but then they too have disappeared.” Looking at Jane, Miranda looked defeated again, “I don’t know what to think. How can I have hope at this point? An avalanche that killed at least 4 people? My girls wouldn’t have had any special skills to let them survive that, I know.” Miranda fought the tears that wanted to well up in her eyes. “Yet, having Nathaniel there? Having Andrea take off, followed by Emily? What am I supposed to think?” Miranda shook her head as a few determined tears streaked down her face.  
  
Maura hopped up grabbing tissues from the living room and handing them over. Busying herself in the kitchen with coffee, Maura wondered how much a person could take. Miranda had come here to die; she had basically told Maura she wasn’t coming out of her last scrape. Taking on Paddy Doyle. Maura couldn’t imagine. She just hoped that wherever this was leading that it didn’t include false hope ripped away to reveal even more pain. Closure was one thing, she understood that, but she feared for the pain of false hope.  
  
“How would you describe your relationship with Andrea Sachs?” Maura cringed as she heard the Detective return to Jane’s voice. Pulling mugs out of the cupboard, Maura turned to watch the women at the table. Miranda raised an eyebrow at her and Jane prompted further. “I’ve read what everyone said about her. Young scientist who swept you off your feet. How did you meet? What kind of scientist is she? Does she get along with your daughters? Friends from her life before you? There’s Rick, but what about that Nathaniel Cooper?”  
  
“Jane!” Maura couldn’t help her outburst. It was well beyond too much.  
  
Miranda crossed her legs and fixed her deadliest glare on Jane but addressed Maura first in a quiet tone that sent a shiver of fear up her spine. “Maura, it is okay. I have been grilled over Andrea more than once. The Detective has never met my Andrea.” Maura closed her eyes and sank against the counter, hoping that the coffee would finish soon. “Detective, Andrea and I were drawn to each other from the first moment that we met. She worked within blocks of me at Elias-Clark. I have no idea what she worked on.” Miranda smiled a little at this, “When she would talk about it, she would light up and I loved that, but I could not possibly keep up with what she was saying.” Miranda looked over at Maura hopefully reminding everyone of Maura’s delightful lectures that went over their heads. It served as a ready-made example for the Detective. Then Miranda tried to put into words her attraction for Andrea from the first second of seeing her. “I began seeing this tall brunette when I was stopped outside of the Elias-Clark building or occasionally waiting at Starbucks. I knew I shouldn’t but I couldn’t resist the pull towards her. I began to look for her, to get out of my car to walk near her or wait in line for coffee with her.” Miranda closed her eyes wishing that her story was really as simple as she was describing it. The truth of the pull between them couldn’t be denied. “You know what that’s like, don’t you, Detective? To be drawn to someone that perhaps you shouldn’t be?”  
  
Maura bit her lip as the two women stared at each other at her table. Jane was so stubborn and she hoped that in this case she would just acknowledge the truth instead of challenging Miranda to spite her. When Jane looked over at Maura, the detective just nodded. She returned her gaze to Miranda’s knowing look. “And with your children?”  
  
Thinking of Caroline’s arms wrapped around a brown wolf and trying to fend off a lick from a small red wolf, Miranda felt her heart break all over again. “Truthfully, I don’t know if Andrea wanted children before she met mine.” Miranda shrugged, “It never came up. Maybe it should have. I expect that Andrea would tell me if she wanted her own.” Sighing at the memories washing over her, Miranda answered the question. “She adored those girls as much as I did and would have done anything to protect them or care for them.”  
  
Jane didn’t like kicking people when they were down, but in her line of work too many times she had to do exactly that because the truth was—people did awful things to each other. So, she forged ahead with the next question, “Any problems between you? Why would she leave, Miranda?”  
  
Accepting the cup of coffee that Maura set before her, Miranda shook her head and pressed her palms against the hot ceramic. “I’ve tried not to think about it, but I can’t help it. I feel like such a cliché—the dumped and duped lover left and not even knowing why.” Miranda took a sip and savored the rich taste of the deep roast. “I don’t get it. If I’m the sucker then I should have come home to an empty house, or my bank accounts depleted, or something. Instead I came home to a note that smelled of her perfume, written in a hurried but careful hand, and telling me not to worry that’d she’d be home soon and loved me. Why bother to write that and take off? It doesn’t make sense. Her things are still in the closet,” Miranda let out a sad laugh at that and added, “All over the house there are signs of her presence. Before all of this, I would have said the only thing that could take her away from me, or me from her, would have been the twins. They were gone though, and then they were gone.” Miranda let the tears fall again and Maura came around to sit next to her, holding her hand as she went.  
  
Jane quietly contemplated this for many minutes. Facts always had more than one interpretation and it evolved as you got more facts. That was what Maura was always after her to remember, right? To not make snap judgments or lean too far into her own theory that she gathered facts to prove it instead of letting the facts tell her what was going on. Finally, Jane nodded her head and admitted in a quiet firm voice, “I think I was wrong.” At Maura’s beseeching look, the brunette added. “You said the only thing that would pull Andrea away from you would be the twins?” Miranda nodded. “Is there any way that she was in touch with her ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel Cooper? Maybe through their mutual friend?’  
  
At a loss, Miranda wondered what he detective was thinking, but this was something she knew the answer to if that would help. “Nathaniel and Andrea had broken up before we met. They had a professional falling out regarding ethics. Rick sided with Andrea against Nathaniel. Neither Andrea nor Rick wanted anything to do with their former employer or fellow employees. Both have changed their residences and broken off all their ties with that part of their lives.” Miranda could see the wheels in Jane’s mind turning and she didn’t want to, but she felt a small spark of hope as she watched the dark-haired beauty brood over her thoughts.  
  
“What is it, Jane?” Maura couldn’t take the suspense any longer and she knew that Miranda was going to lose her mind watching Jane think.  
  
“Credit cards put Andrea Sachs and Emily Charlton in Denver before the Avalanche. They arrived about 8 hours apart.” Jane just let those two facts hit like bricks to the stomach as she continued to chew her own thoughts to pieces. After a while, she added, “Originally I would have said that Andrea ran off to meet with her former lover, maybe to kidnap your kids for a ransom, especially with that old friend of theirs there as well.” Jane stood and walked in a small circle around the dining table. “What if Nathaniel went after your kids? Would Rick have called Andrea? Would they have called Emily?”  
  
Miranda wailed as pieces clicked into place and her sense of failure drowned her sense of loss in a strangled wail. Maura wrapped her arms around the woman, pulling her into the crook of her neck. After many moments of Maura whispering nonsense and stroking circles on Miranda’s back, the silver haired woman pulled away. “Yes, that could have happened. They might have tried to deal with the threat on their own.” Her voice was so quiet and broken that Maura wondered if she could take anymore.  
  
“Why not call the authorities?” Jane couldn’t help but ask.  
  
Wryly, Miranda looked at Jane and said simply, “How many of your cases involve people who think they can handle things on their own?” Her face crumpling in another wave of sadness, Miranda squeezed Maura’s arms around her neck taking small comfort from her sympathy.

 

 

…


	9. Is it real?

**_Coming Home. Part 9/27._**  
  
Thankful that Jane and Miranda had made it through their fact finding each in one piece, Maura went to check on Miranda before joining Jane in bed. Her body was singing with the presence of such a powerful wolf, the increased tension between herself and Jane, and the adrenalin coursing through her veins at going on an adventure. She wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Jane had agreed to go with them to Denver. Previously she would have guessed that the tall brunette would have thrown up her hands in indignation and refused to even think about Maura going let alone sign herself up to help Miranda.  
  
“Hey.” Maura poked her head in quietly to find Miranda leaning against the headboard looking at one of the magazines taken from the front room.  
  
“Maura.” The silver haired woman sat up straighter and patted the bed next to her. “Come in, please.” She smiled a tired smile at her host.  
  
“I just wanted to check on you.” Maura explained.  
  
Nodding her understanding, Miranda reached out and took Maura’s hand in her own. “I cannot thank you and Jane enough for coming with me.” Tears hinted in her eyes, but they only hovered there punctuating her emotions instead of exploding out in another outburst. She squeezed Maura’s hand hoping to truly communicate her heartfelt thanks. “I’m sorry that I pushed her and taunted her with Patrick.”  
  
Maura let out a strangled sort of laugh. “Sometimes Jane needs a push.” Her tone was wistful, but her smile sincere. “Patrick, well, you simultaneously classed yourself as a criminal and then earned her respect by punching him.” Maura patted Miranda’s arm as she took her hands and clasped them in her lap. “I’m surprised that Jane was so willing to come with us.”  
  
Miranda tilted her head in a listening motion that Maura mirrored. The voice was muffled through the other room’s door, but Jane was clearly talking to someone. “She’s on the phone with the FBI.” When Maura looked at her aghast, Miranda added, “She’s trying to convince them that it’s a kidnapping.” Maura’s eyes were wide with fear then, “Relax, if they believe her and my name gets put on reports, there are enough wolves in the bureau to make sure the right people respond in Denver.” After a few more moments passed, the voice in the other room went silent and they could hear Jane moving around in the bathroom. “In the morning, I’ll slip out early and get my car with my wallet and such.” Settling her hand on top of Maura’s on her forearm, Miranda said quietly, “He’s as proud of you as Constance is, you know. You’re a fine wolf and a wonderful woman.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Propping herself up on her elbow, Jane let her eyes trail over Maura’s body. Noticing how easy it was that her hand rested over Maura’s stomach she smiled. Somehow the room seemed different in this quiet morning. Jane considered that was perhaps because for once she woke before Maura, fully alert instead of swimming sluggishly toward consciousness. Inhaling and stretching her body alongside of Maura’s shorter form, Jane smiled as she ran her foot over Maura’s ankle and received a return nudge. Instinct, Jane marveled at how much of their relationship was based on it—from making friends with the Queen of the Dead to figuring out how her ticks could mesh with Jane’s. So much of their relationship was based on unspoken nuances, like Maura nudging her foot back even in her sleep. Jane wasn’t sniffing Maura exactly, but Jane found that she could detect the underlying smell of the woman separately from the citrus of her shampoo and the honey of her lotion. Embarrassed, Jane began to roll away from her friend, unsure of how welcome her actions would be.  
  
“Stay.” Maura’s voice was quiet, but her fingers around Jane’s wrist were strong.  
  
Jane looked questioningly into Maura’s lighter eyes seeking out the golden highlights that sparkled with the sun. “You glow.” Jane whispered as she found herself leaning back over Maura, gazing into her eyes like a lover would.  
  
Twining their fingers on her stomach, Maura smiled up at Jane. “You always do.”  
  
The right side of Jane’s mouth curled in a half smile as she took in Maura’s disheveled morning appearance as if seeing her for the first time. Maura’s mouth parted, her body responding to the hunger she saw in Jane’s eyes, yet still uncertain of what words, if any, were necessary. Conscious of their physical position, Maura wondered at the progression of their relationship in a matter of days. She so desperately wanted to claim Jane’s pouty lips with her own and she couldn’t help but believe that Jane wanted that too. Jane squeezed her legs together, fighting the urge to throw her leg over Maura and claim her. Her fingers twitched in between Maura’s and she felt at once anchored and driven insane by her touch.  
  
Breathing shallowly, Maura asked in a subdued voice. “Did you dream?”  
  
Jane leaned down towards Maura’s face, just the fraction of a millimeter. Both of them were suspended in time, wanting the other and feeling the hunger. Licking her lip, Jane nodded unsure if she could form the words. “Yes.” Jane pulled back to look into Maura’s eyes once more. “You were there.” Jane’s words were unsure, and Maura wondered if she would finally realize that it was a shared dreamscape. “I mean, you were there.” Jane swallowed again, her eyes searching Maura’s. “Weren’t you, Maura?”  
  
Blinking slowly, Maura licked her lip as well. Each of them conscious of how close they were, they flexed their twined fingers together on the thin cotton covering Maura’s bare stomach. “I’ve always been with you, Jane.” Her words were barely a whisper, but she knew that Jane could hear her. The details of the changes Jane was likely going through might not be clear to Maura as she’d barely had a chance to speak with Miranda about the process. However, she knew Jane was awakening to her latent abilities. If she would reveal her wolf completely only time would tell.  
  
Pulling their joined hands out so that Jane could look at the two tones of their skin pressing warmly together and then interweaving together at the tips, the brunette asked, “Is it real?” The dark-haired woman shuddered as she felt Maura’s breathless ‘yes’ in a puff of air against her cheek. “Are you?” Jane couldn’t quite say the words, but she knew she didn’t need to as she turned her head to look at Maura, their lips closer than they had ever been before.  
  
“Yes.” Maura answered as she pulled their joined hands up and then pulled Jane’s head down to crash their lips together.  
  
Her hand pressed hard into the mattress as Jane followed Maura’s lead pressing their lips together. Her leg fell between Maura’s as her body attuned itself fully to the slender form of the woman she had loved longer than she knew. Their breasts pressed against the thin cotton of their sleep shirts. Maura moaned as their lips slipped against each other over and over, until Jane’s tongue licked against her mouth and their kiss deepened.  
  
Maura had to let Jane pull away, had to let her breathe, had to let her catch up. There were so many things left unsaid between them, but Maura felt that the most important had already been revealed. Maura had always been there for and with Jane, would always be there and now Jane was with her. Many things may get in the way, but there was nothing that would separate her from Jane. Maura realized that there never had been anyway. If Jane turned with the moon, if she joined a Pack, it wouldn’t matter because Maura would find a way to be at her side.  
  
Then Jane was lowering her lips and taking her second taste of what they could be and Maura was tangling her fingers in the long wavy strands of Jane’s brown hair.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Separating, Maura could see Jane trying to focus her senses and right herself once more. It thrilled Maura to know just how much she affected her lover. These senses were new to her, and no doubt having been so focused on their morning’s activities, it threw Jane off to hear her mother greeting someone at the door and then leading them into the house happily chirping about the day. Her fierce desire to protect, to know everything in her environment and her distraction would trouble her. Sitting up Jane’s t-shirt slipped back down her body, much to Maura’s disappointment. The mornings were just never long enough when you wanted them to be.  
  
Facing Jane on her knees, Maura tilted her head listening. “Tell me who it is.” Maura smiled as Jane looked uncertainly at her. The brunette made as if to get up when Maura pulled her back by the front of her shirt and kissed her hard. Smirking and shaking her tangly hair, Maura scolded, “You stay here.” She scented the air as Jane watched her and then asked again. “Who is here?”  
  
Jane listened again and then followed Maura’s lead inhaling the various faint scents of the house. “Ma’s making pancakes and bacon.” Her stomach grumbled its wish and she patted it as if to tell it to stay put for the moment. She sniffed the air once more and then turned to Maura her eyes full of wonder. “Miranda.” She tested the air again, “She’s been out.”  
  
Maura slid off the bed and stood, pulling her shirt back up over her shoulder and smoothing down her sleep shorts. Without thinking, she shook her body from head to toe and then stretched her right leg back behind her as she walked toward the bathroom door. Stretching her left leg the same way, she explained a little bit. “She went for a run.” At Jane’s blinking disbelief, Maura turned into the bathroom.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Holding hands as they entered the kitchen, Maura and Jane were amused to see Miranda and Angela engaged in what appeared to be a friendly debate. Hardly breaking contact, the couple weaved in and around them as they poured coffee, snagged pancakes and bacon, and hovered over each other until they were draped over the corner of the dining room table. Finally breaking off their eye contact to giggle and grab a forkful of food, the silence registered with both of them.  
  
Looking up Maura caught the mischief in Miranda’s eye and blushed before she swallowed her bite a little earlier than would have been recommended.  
  
Jane met her mother’s knowing look with a rebellious, “What, ma?”  
  
The Rizzoli matriarch shared a look with Miranda but said nothing. Miranda just shrugged in a ‘kids’ sort of way that said nothing and everything at the same time. The older women gathered their breakfast ignoring the longing looks and whispers from the grown children at the table. Angela and Miranda entertained themselves at their corner of the table but didn’t sit quite so close together. Angela was so delighted that she didn’t even have to fill the long silences that Miranda seemed to favor.  
  
Eventually Jane and Maura joined the conversation as Angela’s voice rose. “I can’t do that!”  
  
Jane and Maura passed questioning looks back and forth realizing that they had been sitting not four feet away and managed not to hear a word from the other two women. “What’s up, ma?” Jane quietly questioned knowing that she’d get a sure response from her kin. She had a grudging respect for Miranda, but if she didn’t want to tell, then it would take too long to sort out.  
  
Angela Rizzoli turned and it was then that Jane realized that her ire was spread out evenly across all of them. “What do you mean what?” Angela said as her hands went up in the air and thudded back onto the table. “Miranda wants me to use her car. She said you’re leaving? When did you decide this? Where are you going, Janey?” The hurt was clear in her voice and Miranda’s eyes widened as she realized what had happened, or rather what had not happened.  
  
Jane scratched her hand over her face as she tried not to swear in front of her ma. “Oh, ma.” Jane’s revealed the pain of hurting her mother again without meaning to at the same time it held that common note of frustration that seemed to always ebb and flow between the Rizzoli women.  
  
“Ms. Rizzoli, if I may explain.” Miranda’s calm, cool touch on Angela’s arm, snapped her attention back to her original discussion partner. “Detective Rizzoli got a call back from the FBI before she could let you know of our plans.” Her blue eyes searched Angela’s brown ones as the other woman settled more firmly in her chair. Maura watched this wonder as she tried to discern if Angela was instinctively responding to the wolf or if it was simply Miranda’s quiet, sincere demeanor. Her hand on Jane’s thigh easily stopped her lover from revealing her shock over Miranda’s verbal sleight of hand. Maura had to admit it was impressive, whether it was wolf or not. “Your daughter was able to find out that my lover, Andrea, and my former assistant editor, Emily, arrived in Denver right before and right after the avalanche that may have claimed my girls.” Her eyes held Angela’s and Maura was starting to believe in hypnotism. “Those two facts along with realizing that one of the confirmed victims of the avalanche was Andrea’s ex-boyfriend points to some interesting circumstances.” Rubbing her palm against Angela’s skin, Miranda gave her an award worthy pleading look before she added, “You can understand that I have to follow the hope that my children are alive, don’t you?”  
  
Angela was on the verge of weeping as she nodded her acceptance and understanding. “Oh, Miranda. Oh, that’s terrible and awful and wonderful.” Visibly upset, Angela floundered for words, but all three of the other women knew exactly what she was trying to say.  
  
“I’m sorry that we didn’t get a chance to tell you, but Jane was trying to convince the FBI.” Miranda took a sip of her coffee. “They didn’t think there was enough evidence. We were all so frustrated.”  
  
Fixing a wild look on her daughter, Angela was suddenly anxious to get them out of the house, to start the search. “What time do you leave? Oh, goodness, Jane.” She stood and started taking everyone’s plates whether they were actually done or not. Motioning at Jane and Maura, she added harshly, “I can’t believe you’re sitting here all googly-eyed at each other, when you’ve gotta pack.” Shooing them with her hands, Angela added, “Get outta here.”

 

 

…


	10. Never Checked Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: From this point on, please keep in mind that I don’t know anything about snow.
> 
> A/N 1: I did do research once upon a time about this device and think I know how it works… if not. I’ll just pull the AU card again :) http://www.rei.com/product/860469/spot-gen3-satellite-gps-messenger Text off the SPOT box plagiarized word for word.

**_Coming Home. Part 10/27._**  
  
If Miranda was uncomfortable in Angela Rizzoli’s purple beanie, and three-piece hunter green Columbia jacket, then she hid it well. Perhaps alighting after a coach class flight for nearly five hours, nothing would phase Miranda anymore. Maura delighted in being able to openly snuggle against Jane with the extra chill as an excuse. Pushing through the crowd in the airport, Miranda led the way. Securing a ride outside the airport for them, the older woman couldn’t resist rolling her eyes and scolding, “puppies,” in Maura’s ear as she slipped forward and into the passenger seat. Let them enjoy while they could, she figured.  
  
Thankfully the same credit charges that put Andrea in Denver also revealed the same name of the hotel that Tabitha and Rick had been staying at. Emily’s purchases only went to airfare and purchases, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t with them. It just pointed to the fact that there might be more than one issue weaved all together. Miranda tipped the driver well and left her bag with Jane and Maura to carry. She nodded curtly at the man shoveling snow off the sidewalk as she made her way to the office.  
  
“Miranda?” They hadn’t been expecting blinking neon signs, however the pain on Miranda’s face pulled Maura to her as surely as if she had been shot.  
  
Holding up a key in her yarn-gloved hand, Miranda just shook her head. She closed her eyes willing herself to stay upright. “Andrea never checked out.” Jane reached out taking the key and then slipping her arm into Miranda’s elbow on the opposite side from Maura.  
  
Slowly they made their way across the parking lot and then up the switch backing stairs to the third floor. Maura held Miranda from the side as Jane knocked on the door and announced herself. She watched with concern as Jane slipped the key in the lock, turned it and then cautiously made her way in. In her mind’s eye she saw Jane clearing the room as she stepped into a new corner and looked around. Eventually Jane called out, “Clear.”  
  
Straightening herself to her full height and sucking in a breath of chill air, Miranda prepared to face whatever might be in the room. Maura’s hands slipped down, though she kept her left fingertips against the billowing fabric of the big jacket. Jane stood on the far side of the bed, wanting to let Miranda see things for herself, despite the disappointing lack of things to see. A small suitcase sat on the chair perhaps half full. The bathroom had a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste with no cap. The chair had a really nice set of clothes piled messily. The only thing of use was a folded piece of paper with an elegant M. As much as Jane wanted to know all the answers she could, she did not touch the paper clearly meant for Miranda. Maura stepped into the room as curious about the occupants as the room itself. She could tell from Jane’s reaction that she didn’t hold out much hope at this point. Miranda was stock still, her fingers tracing the writing on the paper on the table. Maura edged around to the other side and peeked into the bathroom before leaning against the door.  
  
_Miranda-_  
  
I love you and the girls. I would only leave you for them, you know.  
If you’re reading this, I’m so very sorry that I couldn’t make things right.  
Rick saw Nate and we are going after him.  
I’m afraid he means to hurt the girls, Miranda.  
  
Love.  
  
Andrea  
  
Bracing herself painfully against the table, Miranda listed to her side. Maura rushed forward helping her into the empty chair. Miranda looked around the room, not seeing anything, and unable to control the painful sobs wracking her body. “Water.” Maura hissed to Jane as she turned to her bag quickly. Miranda had bent over wishing to curl up, but knowing she couldn’t change, not here, not now, maybe never again. Maura kneeled at her feet, gently pulling her up and resting her head on Maura’s chest. Jane set the glass of water on the table and then took a peek at the note, her own eyes welling up with tears for Miranda’s continuing loss.  
  
After many minutes with Jane pacing and Miranda sobbing, Maura was able to settle her up in the chair in a normal sitting position. Looking into Miranda’s glassy eyes, Maura bit her lip. Then she turned and rooted around in her purse, finally pulling out what looked suspiciously like a tic-tac container. She shook out a tic-tac shaped item into her palm and then offered it and the glass of water to Miranda. Blue eyes looked from the offering up into Maura’s light brown eyes. They held each other in silent communion, before Miranda looked down at the tic-tac, smiled and took the glass of water. Returning the suspicious container to her purse, Maura let out a sigh as she rubbed her hands on her pants.  
  
“Can I have one?” Jane asked as she looked over Maura’s shoulder. When Maura just fixed her with a look that clearly meant no, Jane couldn’t resist, “What, I just want a tic-tac?” Maura’s hissed ‘shhhhh’ made her crack up a little. Whispering in Maura’s ear, Jane couldn’t resist, “You can’t just drug people all the time, you know.” Maura turned shocked eyes on Jane, fully prepared to defend herself when she was pulled into a kiss.  
  
Oblivious to their antics, Miranda stood and looked around once more. “I’ll go lie down then, shall I?” Miranda wasn’t talking to anyone really, she just couldn’t help herself from muttering. Alighting on Andrea’s clothes on the chair, her face crumpled once more. Scooping up the cashmere sweater she had given her lover the previous year, Miranda gasped as a 6’ x 6’ inch box fell to the floor. Settling down to her knees, Miranda scooped up the box turning it end over end reading as she went, “SPOT. Check in. Track progress. Ask for help. Alert 911.” Her voice was low, the words separated by heavy pauses. Maura and Jane separated and knelt on either side of her as she rotated the box. “Live to tell about it.” She said in a ghost-like voice that spoke of sadness that could no longer be borne.  
  
The box looked fairly beaten up. It had a sticker on the side proclaiming ‘service required.’ There were pictures of people in extreme situation including snow conditions. Jane’s hand itched to reach out and grab the slowly rotating box from Miranda, but she didn’t dare. Instead Jane asked her, “Have you ever seen this before?” When Miranda shook her head, Jane tried to think of other questions. “It doesn’t look like those emergency beacons from the articles.” She ran aground on that one. Without yanking that box away from the seemingly dazed older woman, Jane couldn’t really tell what it was.  
  
Miranda eased back until she was sitting on her ass on the dirty motel room carpet. Maura couldn’t have been more shocked, although she could practically hear Angela’s voice saying something about ‘drastic times.’ She really wished that Angela had been able to come with them but knew with the combination of dangerous elements from the weather, the Facility and unknown wolf issues that it would be too dangerous. Besides with the full moon only four days away, Maura was worried about Jane.  
  
On her own Miranda handed the box over to Jane’s inspection. “Andrea said that in the field they always needed a way to check in.” Shrugging her shoulders, she added, “I had no idea she still had it.”  
  
Jane carefully flipped open the top flap. Reading the flap, she cringed, ‘Welcome: Opening this box is the first step to making sure you don’t come home in one.’ Shaking off that thought, Jane glanced at the purposes listed inside the top and then kept going. There was a card about returning to the manufacturer instead of the retailer, followed by information on the services offered for a fee. Jane set them aside as she glanced at the User’s Guide. On the Section 2 page there was what looked like a user name of some kind: andy86. Over a different line about activating the device there were three initials and sur name: CRS and Hoffman. Next to the drawing of the device there were numbers near the labels for Serial and Authentication Code. Jane sighed a huge sigh of relief and looked at Maura nodding that she at least had found something, some place to start.  
  
Settling the box and papers on the table near their head, Jane stood up. She reached out a hand for Miranda encouraging her, “Come on. You should rest while I make some calls.” Miranda rose unsteadily and then looked back for Andrea’s sweater. Maura handed it up to her. A little wobbly but not falling down, Miranda made her way to the bed and settled on it without further ado.  
  
Maura joined Jane at the table then, her eyes curious. “You can track this thing.” The detective had a fire in her eyes that gave Maura renewed hope. “I don’t know how it works or how long it could last out there, but you can track it.” She nodded and then searched her pockets for her cell phone. Grunting with the awkwardness, Jane began to shrug out of her big winter coat. Jane began looking for a phone number to call while Maura peered into the box once more.  
  
Pulling an inner box out by an elastic band, Maura looked down inside to discover a folded paper. Reaching in, Maura grasped the paper creasing it slightly as she pulled it out. It was folded in fourths and Maura gasped in delight as she revealed a google map printed three years before followed by an email whose body text said simply: “SPOT Check OK. Andy reporting.” It went on to list Latitude and Longitude coordinates. The third page had what seemed to be the particulars of service including address, account name, visa number, codes that didn’t quite make sense to Maura, an authentication code, and a price in USD. Flipping the papers back to the map, Maura held it out to the detective. “Jane, Jane. You’ve got to see this.”

 

 

…


	11. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I looked at the end of Wolf and couldn’t find a description of Tabitha, just that she was flirting with Rick.

**_Coming Home. Part 11/27._**  
  
It was frustrating to say the least, waiting had never been Jane’s strong suit. She knew they had what they needed to at least find the last known location and hopefully they could at the minimum find some closure instead of opening Miranda’s wounds over and over. Jane paced the small room wondering what else she could do. Finally, she asked Maura where the print outs of the news articles were. Maura fished them out of her bag looking at Jane quizzically. They had each read them over and over and she wasn’t sure what else Jane could hope to do with them. Without a word, she slipped on her jacket and stormed out the door.  
  
“Call Constance.” Miranda’s disembodied voice made Maura jump up and look at the woman. Her arm was over her face and the rest of her was perfectly still, which only served to creep Maura out even more.  
  
“I thought you were asleep?” The doctor stepped closer to the bed.  
  
Sighing, Miranda lifted her leg up and then used it to help lever herself to a sitting position. “I slept for a time.” Stretching her neck from one side to the other, Miranda then stretched her arms over her head reaching for the ceiling. “Conserving my energy, I guess. I don’t know how many times I can lose them before I lose my mind entirely, Maura.” Waving at the box, instructions, and old registration data, she indicated, “Besides, I could never figure that stuff out.”  
  
Maura nodded and then stood. “Want some water?”  
  
Taking a few sips, Miranda fixed Maura with her blue eyes. “I know you heard me.” Her voice was quiet, but that didn’t make in any less of an accusation. Maura can’t quite recall the last time she felt like this, so she looks at her shoes. Miranda knew that this was difficult for more than one reason, and she relented. “Bring me my purse, please.” Maura brought her bag over and then stepped to the window. “Constance can find someone to do the things Jane couldn’t get those people to do. You know it, Maura. Part of being a wolf is using your resources.”  
  
Turning to face her elder, Maura nodded as she bit her lip. Being a wolf, that phrase really got to her and she knew that Miranda had said it on purpose. Sanctuary was a lonely path between snarling Wolf Packs that could flare up into hostilities at any time. It was how Maura had the upbringing that she did after all. Patrick Doyle and Hope Martin had crossed one too many lines and they had all paid a heavy price. Most wolves wanted community, a pack to call their own, and couldn’t understand Maura’s choice to remain unaffiliated in the middle. If Jane’s wolf asserted itself, then it was likely she would want to run with a pack, leaving Maura with a terrible decision to make. Constance had been telling her this for years, but Maura hadn’t wanted to hear it. Fortunately, until two years before when Andrea and Miranda had stumbled into their destinies, it hadn’t been an issue. The Lost Ones had lost their wolf nature and that was that.  
  
Miranda sat on the bed getting straight to the point with Constance Isles in a way that always surprised Maura. Alpha wolves were unique among wolves and Maura wondered at why she would even consider that—her father was an Alpha; her adoptive mother was an Alpha. Miranda seemed different, almost an Alpha among Alphas.  
  
The key in the lock signaled Jane’s return and Maura rushed to greet her. Part to escape any chance of Miranda handing over the phone and part to cover if Miranda had mentioned anything wolfy. She needn’t have bothered as Miranda had obviously ended the call as she stepped forward to join them tossing the phone on the bed.  
  
Jane held up the photographs and pointed as she spoke. “Rick Folger and Tabitha Cruz were staying here when Andrea checked in.” Shifting the papers, Jane pointed to just the man. “He hasn’t been seen since after the avalanche. She is still here.” Setting the print outs on the table, Jane looked at Maura. “Let’s get something to eat at the diner downstairs. Then I can stake out her room.” Maura nodded quickly and they turned to Miranda.  
  
Shaking her head slightly, the silver haired woman walked in a slow circle. “We don’t know what’s going on. They know who I am.” Looking at Maura, she raised an eyebrow. “They don’t know the two of you. Maura if you don’t mind being a go between then you could bring me something to eat here. Depending on what’s going on, we’ll have more of a plan this time tomorrow.” Humming to herself, Miranda was obviously still thinking. “I didn’t know Jane’s email, so check yours please, Maura. Those SPOT people should be sending you information within a few hours.” With that Miranda turned, grabbed her suitcase and slipped into the bathroom. The click of the lock seemed louder than normal because of circumstance. Then the shower was running and the two women shared an intense look, before preparing to head downstairs to the greasy spoon.  
  
“Any idea what she eats?” Jane asked as they pulled the door shut and locked it.  
  
Maura laughed easily, “Steak—the rarer, the better.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
With only six tables and a bar that seated eight, the diner was as cozy as could be. The shelf above the working counter along the back had large containers of common spices: salt, pepper, cinnamon, chili power. There was a large bowl of fruit with the end of a banana sticking up over one side of the dish. Unable to help herself, Maura catalogued it as a 1940s Prime Color bowl similar to a set that her mother had when she was a child. She almost pointed this out to Jane, when she realized with a blush that Jane would act annoyed and she would get defensive and then they would smile shyly at each other. Maura giggled at that thought wondering how they had grown so close without really realizing it.  
  
“What’s going on in that big brain of yours?” Jane asked as she slipped onto the bench seat opposite of Maura and the waitress walked away.  
  
“I was going to comment on the 1940s Pyrex bowl on the shelf there.” Maura pointed toward the back counter.  
  
Jane looked around and then smiled at Maura. “Of all the things in here, that was what you were going to comment on?” Maura blushed a little as she looked around again. “I would have thought that the bag of Wonder Bread there would have been comment worthy.” Jane nodded with her head to indicate the suspicious bread product.  
  
Knowingly, Maura commented, “But I don’t have any facts about that.” Studiously looking over her menu, Maura tried to ignore the somewhat shocked look Jane was giving her from across the table. Keeping her head lowered, Maura made it a few more seconds under Jane’s scrutiny and then looked up, clearly amused. “See what made me giggle?” Maura let her foot slip forward to touch Jane’s under the table. “When did we?”  
  
Jane chuckled and then stole the end of the sentence from her. “Get so cute? I don’t know, but if this is where our first date is going to be, then the food had better be good.”  
  
Blushing Maura wiggled her leg against Jane’s again, unsure about their public hand holding status at this point. Sharing a smile with Jane, she knew that it didn’t matter because they were together. “You can’t go wrong with breakfast in a place like this.”  
  
Nodding Jane agreed, “Hey, what room number is that? Can you see it from here, Maura?”  
  
Squinting, Maura shook her head. “Maybe if I was over there, but I can’t see from this angle.”  
  
Jane patted the bench next to her. “Come over here then.” Maura looked at her like she wasn’t sure if Jane was trying to pull something, but she reluctantly slid across her own bench. “Then we can be close.” Jane lowered her voice knowing that Maura could hear her. Settled Maura confirmed what Jane thought, they could see Tabitha’s room from their spot at the diner.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Later in the room, Maura set down the rib-eye and dinner salad. Miranda had rested and looked better able to handle things once more. “Have a nice time?” Miranda smiled as she pulled her chair up to the hotel table.  
  
“Jane called it our first date.” Maura couldn’t help the girly smile covering her face. She wanted to spin in her chair. It had been hard to leave Jane in the diner, but she felt better about that than leaving Jane outside in the cold. As surveillance ops went, she supposed it was a good deal really.  
  
Cutting into the steak, Miranda asked, “How long have you two been dancing around each other?”  
  
Maura’s eyes went glossy as she thought about meeting Jane, becoming friends with her, arguing with her, and ultimately growing close. “Five years.” She let out a happy little sigh that made Miranda smirk at her.  
  
After a few moments, Miranda decided to elaborate on her experience with Andrea. “It’s hard waiting for them to catch up and realize, but it is worth it in the end to let them arrive at the truth on their own.”  
  
Thinking of the other morning and how torturous it was to not be with Jane the way she knew they were meant to be, Maura groaned. “I might lose my mind.” She admitted with another love-sick sigh.  
  
Miranda waved a piece of steak at her before taking it in her mouth. After many loaded moments, Miranda asked, “Does she know the dreams are shared?” She tried to think about the steps Andrea had gone through. It certainly had not taken five years for Andrea’s wolf side to manifest, but there wasn’t a prophecy about Maura and Jane and Jane hadn’t found herself thrust into the middle of a Wolf Pack. At least not yet, she amused herself with the notion that given time now, Jane would be around enough wolves that if she was going to change, then she would. She found herself thinking of Caroline and how they had waited trying to not hope either way for the next couple of moon cycles. They had been twins, but the general thought of only the eldest born being a wolf had held true. She had thanked God for Serena then, having a fellow human with all those wolves around had been crucial.  
  
“Yeah, she said something about me being there.” Maura thought about that morning with everything out in the open and yet left unsaid between them. She had wanted to linger there forever and hoped that they would get more chances to share like that. “She asked if—” Maura stopped there blushing.  
  
Miranda gave her a knowing smile, “It was all so clear and obvious in that moment.” Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement. It wasn’t often that she got to be a witness to such a delicate part of life as this. “And then her lips met yours and you didn’t get to the content of the dreams?” Maura nodded. Taking a sip of her water, Miranda nodded her understanding. “She’ll see soon enough.” Then with another bite of steak on her fork, Miranda added, “Strange timing.” They shared a round of laughter at that one.  
  
After a few moments spent in contemplative silence, Maura asked, “Do you think all of the Lost Ones will change?”  
  
Tilting her head in contemplation, Miranda thought of Andrea and then Rick. She supposed she could count Nathaniel Cooper, though she was loathe to do so. Scientifically speaking they were the only persons on record having changed well after having gone through puberty. All three had been under 30. None of the three had created children, at least not that anyone knew about. They had either been surrounded by wolves and met their mate who was a wolf, or in the case of Nathaniel—had been forcefully turned. She couldn’t presume to know much about his circumstances or what effect it had had on him. Perhaps being forced that way had damaged him. In any case, Miranda wouldn’t recommend that method to anyone. Miranda sighed. “We don’t really know that much about them. We knew the legends and thought we could tell who they were, but up until Andrea we had never been certain.” Miranda pushed her food container away and drank from her glass. “We thought that certain people had a scent, a behavior aspect, some kind of personality quirk that made us think they were wolves. Sometimes the eye thing was a giveaway, but we never had any proof.” Miranda spun the glass around in between her hands. “Andrea’s brother has not changed, but I believe his wife is truly his mate. Andrea said she didn’t think Amber had the wolf about her.” She sat back against the motel room chair. “Her parents haven’t changed either.”  
  
Maura’s eyes widened like saucers as she thought of Jane and Jane’s family. “Oh god.”  
  
Surprised at this reaction, Miranda raised an eyebrow at the younger woman. “What is it?”  
  
Maura looked seriously into Miranda’s eyes, “Angela Rizzoli could be a wolf.”

 

 

…


	12. Tabitha Cruz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The diner here is based on a tiny little amazing diner that is now closed in Chicago called the Ohio House Coffee Shop. It is next to the still open (I think) Ohio House Hotel with its cool retro design. Although the 24-hour and menu is my own. Oh, and the Pyrex bowl was my idea too :)

**_Coming Home. Part 12/27._**  
  
Jane could not imagine what this Tabitha Cruz was doing. It had been hours and hours since Maura had returned upstairs. She missed her and she hoped that they were getting some sleep. She knew she’d need some in the morning. The Wonder Bread notwithstanding the diner had proven to be a great little place, with quite satisfactory coffee. She thought about texting Maura, but then realized that would defeat the point of sleep. The waitress had tried to chat her up, but eventually gave up and just brought her a carafe of coffee and ignored her. Yawning, Jane stretched her arms up in the air trying to get the kinks out of her back from sitting so long.  
  
Finally Jane saw the lithe form of someone approaching the hotel room in question. Black beanie, black jacket, and black pants. Her height and weight looked about right. The black hair sticking out from under the hat fit the picture. What really nailed it for Jane was the way the woman moved quickly but not too quickly and checked over her shoulder and back. It was practiced, smooth and designed for people to not pay attention to.  
  
‘Gotcha.’ Jane thought. Throwing a twenty-dollar bill on the table, Jane shrugged into her jacket. She regretted leaving her service weapon behind her in Boston, but she’d really rather not explain what she was doing with it should things go downhill.  
  
The woman had just slipped in the door as Jane approached. She heard the chain jangle as it was slid into the security device. Jane wondered how to play it off. Room service in this place and at this time of night wouldn’t work, not even with the ‘oh, so sorry, I have the wrong room’ bit. Housekeeping was out of the question too. Jane believed in her gut and often followed it, but she wasn’t really sure that this woman had done anything except lose Miranda’s children to an apparent natural disaster. Why hadn’t she returned home? What was she doing out this late at night? Even if she didn’t want to go back to New York, why stay here at this particular hotel? Jane’s mind swirled as she held back considering. She almost hoped that the woman would have to come out and purchase a coke from the machine in the lobby or maybe want some greasy breakfast food to calm her stomach from a night of drinking. Instead she had to think of an angle. Looking around again, Jane noticed that the light was off in the room Miranda and Maura were staying in. She hoped they were sleeping.  
  
It occurred to her that the only reason they would stay at this hotel was because they were hoping for something or waiting for something. If she disappeared in the night, Maura and Miranda would stay hoping to find her or find out about her. True, Maura and Miranda would call people back home, but they would wait.  
  
Why hadn’t Rick and Tabitha called the woman whose children they had lost?  
  
‘Sorry, I lost your children in a natural disaster and then my phone died. Two weeks ago. Um. Really, really sorry.’ Jane could imagine that going over really great with Miranda, but wasn’t it the thing to do? In her line of work Jane had to notify family members of victims all the time. She figured that nannies, chaperones, teachers, and whoever else was in charge of friends would have to have some kind of contact with the parent.  
  
Jane stepped forward and knocked on the door with her usual police presence force. The wood of the door had a good solid sound to it. “Tabitha Cruz.” Jane stated in her formal voice. “I have a message for you.” She knocked on the door again and repeated her words.  
  
The chain jangled, the door was wrenched open and Jane was pulled inside the room by the front of her shirt before she could even blink. She had no time to consider if this was a good or bad greeting. Her body slammed against the wall next to the door with surprising force as the door slammed and was locked with one hand. Jane didn’t appreciate that this little lady had gotten the drop on her, nor that she was now essentially holding her hostage with pretty simple pressure against her throat.  
  
Jane wondered if she could kick or push her way out of this. Her nostrils flared as she considered the rather tidy way she had been taken in. The girl was skilled and apparently well practiced.  
  
Her eyes were kind of glowing in the room and Jane found it oddly calming, rather like the wolves in her dreams.  
  
“You don’t smell like the Facility.” Tabitha growled as she clearly scented the air around her.  
  
Even in this predicament, Jane couldn’t have stopped the eye roll or the attempted sigh. Her throat was still being constricted, but her disgust was clearly communicated. Slamming her head back against the wall, Jane loosened the hand on her throat and hissed, “Let me guess, I smell like cop.”  
  
Jane had been trying to prepare for any number of reactions, the most likely of which seemed to be her throat being squeezed and the fight being on in earnest. There was no way she was prepared for the bark of laughter and hasty retreat of her assailant. Yet that was exactly what she received in return for her smartass remark. Jane stood watching the smaller woman holding her stomach and laughing with all her might. She rubbed her throat knowing that there’d be a mark there, but starting to think she wasn’t going to die, at least not for a while. She was clearly too amusing to kill yet.  
  
Sighing the last of her laughter, the small woman ran her hand through her hair and then tried to stem the tears that welled up in her eyes. “You smell like Rick.” Shaking her head, Tabitha went and sat down in a chair. She motioned to the other one. “Cop, huh?” Tabitha fixed her with a questioning look. “Not from around here, then.”  
  
Jane shook her head as well. It had seemed like the right thing to say at the time, but now she had revealed herself as law enforcement while she knew next to nothing about this woman. “No, not from here.” She agreed as she settled into the chair.  
  
Tabitha’s dark brown eyes looked the tall brunette over. She couldn’t help her nose coming forward a bit as she did so. ‘Not Facility,’ she considered, ‘Cop.’ She mentally shrugged, after all she was an interior designer. ‘Smells like Rick did when she first met him, underneath all that Facility stink.’ Tabitha couldn’t really come up with much of anything with that. She could smell another wolf that she didn’t recognize and then a scent she would know anywhere. She wasn’t sure who the hell this was, but she came from her Alpha, she knew that much. Things couldn’t get much more fucked up than that she supposed. Andy and Rick had been so confident. Now they were gone too, which left her alone. All by herself potentially facing the wrath of Miranda Priestly.  
  
“Are you sniffing me?” The other woman’s tone was indignant and Tabitha looked at her.  
  
‘Right.’ Tabitha stopped scenting the air; cursing herself as she did. ‘Doesn’t know she’s a wolf. This just gets better.’  
  
Still confused Jane continued, her queries. “You are the weirdest assailant I’ve ever met. You got the drop on me, then you laugh at me, invite me to sit, and then smell me.” Jane fixed her with her patented ‘you must be crazy, I’ll get your meds for you’ look complete with concerned eyebrow.  
  
“That’s funny, Officer…” Tabitha trailed off as she tried to maneuver this discussion. Why had Miranda sent a lone lost wolf for her? Where was the Calvary? Why had it taken nearly two weeks? In short how was this going down? If Miranda was sending wolves that didn’t know they were wolves, then how was she supposed to answer.  
  
“Detective.” Jane swallowed and then figured she had to give something. “Rizzoli. Detective Rizzoli.”  
  
Tabitha narrowed her eyes at the other woman, “Awe, don’t be sore with me, Detective.” Smirking Tabitha continued, “I think I showed great restraint after having you show up at my door a three in the morning banging and shouting like that.” Seeing that she had riled up the Detective, Tabitha pressed her point. “What’s the message then?”  
  
‘Gotcha.’ Tabitha thought as she stood and pulled a bottle of water from the case near a small suitcase. Looking back at her companion, Tabitha threw a second water bottle, which the woman deftly caught. “So, Miranda doesn’t have a plan? Interesting. What are you doing here then?”  
  
Jane considered this, she had only wanted to get the woman to open the door and she hadn’t really thought much further than that. She knew that she had not given away Miranda, so she was at a loss as to how to proceed. “Why would Miranda have a plan?” Jane countered.  
  
Tabitha was never particularly good at this cat and mouse business. She’d never been in line for Alpha and she had never wanted to be. She just wanted Rick back and to go home. “To get her pups back.” Swallowing about half of the water bottle, Tabitha sighed. “What the hell do you think we’ve been doing here? What took her so long to get here?”  
  
Jane’s lips began to form words, but her brain couldn’t supply them quickly enough so she just made a face at Tabitha and slammed the water bottle on the table. ‘Her what did she say?’ Jane wanted to shake the other woman, it was a bit like talking to Rondo, except that by now she had gotten the hang of the circles he talked in. “Her children are alive?” Jane wanted to make sure that she understood properly and that this woman was crystal clear on this part of the conversation. Hell would be too little of a price to pay if she was making things up.  
  
“Rick and Andrea went to get them two weeks ago.” Tabitha seemed lucid enough. Jane considered her carefully—she hadn’t tried to choke her lately or laughed at her.  
  
“Miranda was told that her children were presumed dead in the avalanche.” Jane refused to blink as she said this, looking for any tells that this woman might have. “You were in a news article identifying them as missing and then she never heard from you.” Her words ground out one after another, the woman becoming visibly upset, but not showing any signs of deceit.  
  
Wailing was the next unexpected development in this puzzle that Jane had yet to have any idea of how to put together. “So much wasted time.” The woman was crying in earnest and part of Jane wanted to hold her, while another part of her wanted to smack her. Before Jane could decide which reaction to go with, Tabitha fixed suddenly focused dark eyes on her. “Take me to Miranda. We can’t waste any more time here.”  
  
Tabitha stood up and lurched around the room shoving things into the suitcase and pulling on her jacket and beanie.  
  
Jane had just hung up with Maura when the woman had finished packing. ‘Presumptuous,’ Jane thought as she looked the other woman over. They shared a quiet moment in which they sized each other up. Jane wasn’t certain this was the best idea, the woman was clearly well trained in hand to hand, if not carrying a weapon. It wasn’t like Jane had searched her or handcuffed her or anything. Tabitha for her part was curious that this was Miranda’s agent—an unarmed, uninformed, woman (since she wasn’t a wolf, yet?), and clearly not ready for the wolf’s lair she was potentially walking into.

 

 

…


	13. What was my answer then?

**_Coming Home. Part 13/27._**  
  
At first Maura had been valiantly struggling to rouse herself and Jane had smiled. However, they didn’t have time for cute. The hotel rooms were not that far apart and Tabitha seemed to be in a hurry. Using her bossy tone, Jane heard Maura snap to awareness as she heard her sit up in the bed. Miranda’s wakefulness was clear in the background and Jane fought the urge to look at her cell phone. “Tabitha wants to see Miranda now. We’re coming up. She seems to think the girls are alive.” Jane could feel the daggers that Tabitha’s eyes were boring into her back, but she was not going to pass along false information. Jane had already seen the devastation that Miranda went through each time hope was ripped away from her; she wasn’t going to do that to the woman again. She just couldn’t.  
  
Two knocks on the door and Maura had yanked it open and ushered them inside.  
  
Tabitha crossed directly to Miranda, who stood next to the bed with her arms crossed in a superior fashion. Jane couldn’t tell what she thought, only that her eyes had a fire in them that Jane had never seen before. Tabitha bowed from the waist her hands firmly at her sides. “An audience, Master.”  
  
Jane thought it was odd, but then Maura was in front of her looking her over. Her fingers reached up and tentatively were touching Jane’s throat. She couldn’t concentrate on the others with Maura this close to her. Jane caught her hand and pulled her close for a kiss on the cheek. Still holding onto Maura, Jane looked over her shoulder at the two women. “I would like to talk to Tabitha privately.” Miranda announced.  
  
Maura pulled out of Jane’s embrace, “Yes, Miranda.” Looking at Jane, she said, “Let’s get some ice for your neck.”  
  
Fixing Maura with a look, Jane turned to the other women, “No way. She got the drop on me; how do I know she won’t attack you?” Maura nearly whined in frustration. She knew Jane was just being protective, but there were pack toes that she was stepping on. Toes that Jane didn’t know anything about, but Maura couldn’t help but feel sensitive with regard to protocol. “And you,” Jane indicated Miranda now, “You have motive to kill her. No way am I leaving you alone.”  
  
Miranda’s blue eyes flashed with something that Jane had never seen before but found herself drawn towards. Tabitha turned to face them but did not move as Miranda circled her to approach Jane. “You have my word, Jane, that I will not kill her. If there is the slightest chance that my pups are alive, there is no reason for me to take that action.”  
  
Jane’s jaw dropped at that. She couldn’t argue it and she couldn’t deny the logic. Her eyes cut over to Tabitha.  
  
Rising to her full height, which was still shorter than Miranda, Tabitha looked like a recruit at the academy standing at attention. “I have been waiting for her arrival and have no reason to attack her.”  
  
The silence hung in the air as Jane tried to think of another reason to stay in the room.  
  
Maura stepped into her, her fingers slipping against Jane’s waist and finding bare skin. She stroked against it as she searched out Jane’s dark eyes. “They’ll be all right, Jane.” She pressed firmly on the flesh beneath her hand. “You need ice for that.” Stepping more fully into Jane’s space when she didn’t respond vocally, Maura pushed her to walk backwards toward the door. Jane finally agreeing to go, she held Maura’s hand as they stepped out onto the walkway.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
When the door had closed, Tabitha kneeled before Miranda. “I pledge to you.”  
  
Miranda grabbed her by her arms hefting her to her feet and growling. “You want me to take your pledge?” She pushed the smaller wolf away from her and walked around her wishing she could shift and have it out wolf to wolf. “I want my pups and my mate.” Miranda stopped stalking behind Tabitha watching her rigid body as it fought to stay calm in the center of her storm. “What the hell happened?” Tabitha turned around her mouth open to speak before Miranda reached up with one long thin finger to still her words. “Make no mistake, if you mislead me in any way, there will be nowhere for you to run.”  
  
Tabitha swallowed hard and steeled herself to keep steady eye contact with her alpha. She may have been foolish. Rick and Andrea may have been stupid. Yet nothing she had done had been traitorous to her leader. She had done what she could and followed the rules as she understood them. She nodded her understanding and waited for permission to speak.  
  
Miranda’s voice was like ice in her veins, yet Tabitha stood her ground. “You have been here two weeks, why has there been no contact?”  
  
Not looking at anything, Tabitha stood straight and spoke clearly. “Once Rick saw Nate, he contacted Andrea.” Miranda’s body tensed and Tabitha remembered her saying that she wanted her pups and her mate. Whatever had happened, Miranda did not know how Andrea was involved in this. “The girls begged for another run down the mountain. We had a terrible argument about whether that was wise or not. Rick and Andrea said that they could handle Nate.” Tabitha thought about that last blow out and how terribly wrong it had gone. “Emily arrived before they could take off. Once she heard the situation she was adamant that the three of them could handle Nate.” Tabitha paused as she reconsidered the red head’s final argument. “She said that they needed to have it out with him in order to end this.” Turning quizzical eyes on Miranda, she hoped that her leader would be able to make sense of it. “I was sulking in the lodge when the avalanche alarms went off.” Wiping a traitorous tear from her face, Tabitha continued. “I joined the Search and Rescue teams. The other dead ones were Facility. Even semi-frozen, I could smell them. When identifying the bodies, I checked the wallets of two of them. Facility is back. The cards had a 617 area-code phone number.” Tabitha inhaled again forcing her tears to stop and her composure to sit heavily on her shoulders. “If Andrea and then Emily came, then I had no doubt you would be right behind them. When you didn’t come, I assumed that the Facility had compromised your plan. I have been searching and waiting as I have been trained to do.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Maura could feel Jane’s tension as they walked away. She hated being so limited in what she could say to the woman yet knew she couldn’t just blurt out everything either. “I have known Miranda since I was quite young, Jane. If she needed help with one of her people, she would have had us stay.”  
  
Shaking her head, Jane stopped walking. “You don’t know what Tabitha is capable of.” Jane pointed to her throat as an example.  
  
Maura’s gaze fell to the bruising developing on Jane’s neck. As Jane watched her Maura’s eyes flashed with something that she recognized as anger, but something more. She had seen that spark before—in Miranda, from time to time in her ma, and definitely in Maura. Without being conscious of it, Jane licked her lips as she remembered Maura’s face as they held each other the previous morning—becoming lovers as if they had always been on that path. It clicked in her mind that her dreams often had that look; well the eyes of the wolves in her dreams had that look in their eye anyway. Jane startled when Maura spoke, “Tabitha is loyal to Miranda. She asked for an audience.” Taking Jane’s hand, Maura added mysteriously, “And don’t let Miranda’s sadness fool you, you don’t know what she’s capable of.”  
  
Maura pulled the off-kilter Jane with her toward the stairs. She figured that the coffee shop was the best bet for ice at this point in the night, now morning. Good thing that little greasy spoon was open twenty-four hours.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Jane was a horrible patient. Maura knew she would be, but this was downright childish and they were drawing attention to themselves, even if it was just the wiry waitress on the graveyard shift and the cook who grunted and pointed instead of speaking. At least she had gotten crushed ice, saran wrap, and some paper towels to sort of tie around Jane’s neck. Maura had sat down beside her in the booth forcing Jane over and blocking her escape. Jane needed to get at least twenty minutes of ice if she could stand it. Maura was rapidly preparing to settle for ten minutes.  
  
After falling silent for a while, Jane asked in a whisper. “What’s that thing with your eyes?” Jane was looking at her hands on the table instead of her companion, so Maura had to pull gently on her shoulder to get her to make eye contact. Maura’s throat constricted as she felt the hope rise within her that Jane was going to figure things out. “It’s the same look the wolves in my dreams get.” Jane swallowed as she looked at Maura. She felt like she was going too far out on the ice. Maybe Tabitha had hit her head too hard back against the wall?  
  
Maura took her hand on the table and squeezed it gently. “I have to let you figure it out, Jane.” Her eyes searched Jane’s hoping that she understood that she would be with her every step of the way.  
  
“Like you had to let me realize that you shared my dreams?” Jane tilted her head trying not to want so much in the moment. Maura nodded and rubbed her thumb over the back of Jane’s knuckles. “I asked if you were there and you told me you were.” Jane continued thinking out loud. “I asked if you were.” She blushed as she looked at Maura, “You said yes, like it was the answer to everything and we kissed.” Maura nodded and then leaned forward, her eyes slipping shut just before her lips brushed against Jane’s. “It made sense then, but I never finished my question.” Jane thought about that morning and how right and together she had felt. “I was going to ask if you were a wolf.” Her eyes returned to Maura’s and she whispered, “Am I a wolf?”  
  
Maura looked into Jane’s eyes and let her free hand trace the line of her eyebrow, down along her cheek, and then she was cupping Jane’s jaw as she kissed her gently on the lips. “You asked everything in that moment even though there were no words.” Maura whispered against Jane’s lips before tasting them once more. “What was my answer then?” She pulled back to look into Jane’s eyes.  
  
Jane’s eyes fluttered shut as the truth washed over her in a jumbled mess of emotions, disjointed memories, and echoing phrases. “That’s crazy.” She whispered as she turned to fully embrace Maura and pull her into her arms.  
  
Smiling, Maura whispered back knowing that Jane would hear it, “Yes.” Then she snuggled close to Jane, not even minding that the ice pack was making her cheek quite cold. She might get her to leave that ice on for 20 minutes after all.  


 

…


	14. Change is good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beta 1: many thanks to Jah728!!!
> 
> Beta 2: three cheers for Pdt!
> 
> A/N: A lovely, slender female paratrooper… Am I reaching for the stars here?

**_Coming Home. Part 14/27._**  
  
Purpose had restored Miranda’s sense of power. Information had restored her sense of hope. Both had been a flickering mess ready for immolation after the loss of her world—her girls, her mate, and her confidence in her pack. Looking down once more at Maura’s phone, Miranda felt like she was on the verge of getting two out of the three back. With any luck, she’d get her pack back, but like after Stephen’s grab for power, it might not be the same pack. Gripping the phone with its longitude and latitude, Miranda forced herself to repeat the mantra, ‘change is good.’ With the exodus and defeat of Stephen and a few of his people, the pack had room for Andrea and fighting the Facility had given them a unified cause. The Pack for whatever its troubles two years ago, had become stronger and better, even Richard had said as much after Luna’s opening extravaganza.  
  
After her heart to heart with Tabitha, they had gone and found Jane and Maura just about asleep in the little booth of the café. She hadn’t wanted to wake them but needed to. They needed proper rest if they were going to help with the next part of this journey. Tabitha had offered her room to them and quickly grabbed her things. Jane had already fallen on the bed with her shoes on when Maura had pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her gasp had drawn Miranda back in and Jane up onto her elbows. The SPOT people had emailed her just as Miranda had said they would, and Maura was thrilled to share the information with Miranda. “This was the last known location of her SPOT device.” She held the device out and let the silver haired woman slip it from her grasp.  
  
“You have longitude and latitude?” Tabitha had approached trying to look over the taller woman’s shoulder. Peering at the screen for many long moments, Miranda had nodded. “My laptop is here. We can plot it upstairs and compare it to the avalanche coordinates.”  
  
Punch drunk from fatigue, Jane had tilted her head and asked, “Are you CIA or something?”  
  
The other three shared a knowing look. Miranda and Tabitha had left, while Maura returned scolding Jane. Tabitha had been quite knowledgeable when it came to the coordinates, what they would need, and generally creating a plan. After her third yawn, Miranda had sent her to sleep as well. Miranda and Maura had the most sleep, so it made sense to her. Besides thinking of Maura and Jane, she couldn’t deprive them of that. Miranda didn’t mind at all—for once the mental loop in her head was worth reviewing. Now she sat in the hotel chair waiting and planning as the clock ticked by.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
‘I asked for survivalists and good fighters.’ Miranda rolled her eyes as she pulled the door open to let in the three GQ models with Boston accents. They had better be as good with a snow mobile as they were at pumping iron. She could kill Patrick Doyle. ‘Not a single woman either, that pig.’ Miranda gestured to the two chairs and then glared until the third sat on the floor between them. Apparently, they weren’t too impressed with her either. This was going to be great.  
  
“Names and specialties, please.” Miranda regarded them coolly. They knew who she was. There was no doubt in her mind that her reputation preceded her, especially when it came to Patrick selecting wolves to help her.  
  
“Tommy.” He raised his hand up with two fingers as if he was introducing himself in school. Miranda had half a mind to find a ruler. “I’m good with snowmobiles and backwoods skiing.”  
  
At Miranda’s look the one in the other chair also raised his hand and then spoke up. “Riley.” He nodded as if telling himself that was really his name and then continued. “Snow board instructor and,” he laughed a little at himself before he added, “Search and Rescue.” Miranda tried not to smile as she wondered if he was a rescuer or the search dog. The boys managed to keep straight faces though it was clear from the sparkle in their eyes that they had made the joke once or twice themselves before.  
  
Lowering her head to look at the ornery one who hadn’t wanted to sit on the floor, she raised her eyebrow. He could go right back home with his tail between his legs if he wanted to act like that. “Patrick did not choose you to come all the way out here and act like a sullen child.” Miranda tilted her head at the young man. “Perhaps you forgot about the part at the end where I thank Patrick for his support and compliment the members of his pack.” She looked at her fingers, “Or not.” Then she fixed him with a blue laser beam glare that made him shiver in his pants.  
  
He gulped and averted his eyes to her feet. “Connor.” His eyes flickered up to look at her and then back down to the floor. “Moguls.” At Miranda’s blink, he added, “Skiing with obstacles, guess you could say.” He shrugged.  
  
“I know what moguls are.” Miranda paced in front of them. “I just don’t know what Patrick was thinking.”  
  
From the vicinity of the bed came a tired voice, “I can’t believe you called Doyle.” The young men started as they had not properly realized that there was another wolf on the bed. Each prepared to rise when they heard the tone of voice in which their master’s name had been pronounced.  
  
Miranda fixed the small woman now sitting on the bed with a glare. “Just who was I going to call?” Her sarcasm dripped from every syllable. The three young men near the table waited with their muscles flexed. They didn’t need to defend their master just yet if Miranda was going to rip the other woman apart.  
  
The younger woman got up close to her alpha as the men watched with baited breath. “Nigel?”  
  
Narrowing her eyes at Tabitha, Miranda’s voice nearly froze the inside of everyone’s ears in the room with its iciness. “McKenna was the victim of foul play. My children threatened by Andrea’s ex-boyfriend. Andrea and then Emily went missing. The Facility wormed their way into the situation even if they weren’t at the root of it all in the first place.” Miranda had been stalking around the smaller woman until she finally came to rest at her side. “Let me call the final captain of my pack and see what other kind of hell we can unleash, hmmmm?”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
“Connor?” Jane had followed Maura into the diner after they had slept, snuggled, and showered.  
  
Pursing his lips, Connor looked into his coffee and tried to ignore the looks Riley and Tommy were shooting him. Setting the cup down, he met the dark brown eyes that were questioning his presence if not his existence. “Detective.” He greeted her.  
  
“You’re right, Connor.” Riley said as he sipped from his soda straw. “Paddy is punishing you.” Tommy held up his hand for a high five and they shared a bark of laughter.  
  
“Doyle?” Jane’s disbelief and outrage equally colored her voice.  
  
“Dr. Isles.” Connor smiled at Maura and the other two nodded.  
  
Next to Jane, Maura sighed. This was not going to be easy. Jane rounded on her lover, “You know him?”  
  
Connor smiling at her discomfort, motioned to the two other men. “We know who she is. Don’t worry, Detective, she doesn’t know any of us.”  
  
Tommy finally popped in with, “You work for Doyle and you better know who she is.” He nodded into his soda grimly. The hot ones were always taken or unavailable.  
  
Pulling Jane with her, Maura offered. “Let’s get something to eat and I’ll call Miranda.” Once they were settled side by side in the booth, Maura patted her pockets down and then sheepishly asked, “Can I use your phone? Miranda still has mine.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
A van rented, snowmobiles arranged for, and GPS devices purchased—they were as ready as they were going to be for this search and rescue mission. Sleep was the last ingredient they needed. Tommy, Riley, and Connor had gone to their room to play cards. They had promised to have their gear and the van warmed up by eight in the morning. That way everyone could enjoy a quick breakfast before they headed out. When Jane slipped into the toilet for a few moments, Maura leaned forward over the table. “She knows we are wolves, but not much else.”  
  
Miranda nodded her understanding. “We will have to see if we can keep her from seeing any search wolves. Hmm.” She had hummed as she thought about it.  
  
As they heard the flush and then the running of water, Maura had stood. She exchanged some pleasantries with Tabitha and then gave Miranda a hug goodnight. Pulling Jane by the hand, she led them back to Tabitha’s room where they were going to bunk down for the night.  
  
“I don’t know, Maura. This is sure a lot to take in.” Jane said as they stripped down to their underwear and crawled into bed. “Wolves.” She sighed as Maura’s lithe body slipped against her side. “Now we’re working with Doyle’s men.”  
  
Maura propped herself up on one elbow. “Wolves.” She smirked down at Jane.  
  
Jane’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I said wolves.”  
  
Touching Jane’s lips with her fingertip, Maura smirked. “Doyle’s men.” She emphasized the second word and tapped Jane’s lips with her finger.  
  
Underneath her, Jane groaned with realization. “Doyle’s a wolf, so his men are wolves.”  
  
Smug, Maura nodded. Leaning down she kissed Jane sweetly. Pulling away, she asked, “Are all the changes bad?”  
  
Laughing, Jane pulled Maura fully on top of her. “I never said any of the changes were bad.” Kissing Maura, Jane let her hands slide down Maura’s back until her palms were resting on Maura’s hips. In between kisses she added, “This change is good.” Reaching up and going for the clasp at the back of Maura’s bra, Jane added, “Very good.” It was Maura’s turn to groan as she felt Jane’s fingers tracing over the tingling skin released from the tight elastic binding.  
  
“Good.” Maura responded as her kisses changed to bites along Jane’s jaw line.

 

 

…


	15. Rescue Whistle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: My ignorance of snow continues and extends to snowmobiles. Though I do know someone who did what Jane did. In looking into the possibility of a homemade igloo, I stumbled upon the suggestion of a tunnel.
> 
> A/N 1: Notes refresher: Cassidy=older=wolf; Caroline=younger=no wolf (I think I left it ambiguous in ‘Caught’, but I’ve gone with human for Caroline.)

**_Coming Home. Part 15/27._**  
  
With about ten minutes worth of instructions and paperwork, Maura was sitting nervously on a 500-pound piece of machinery that she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be sitting on. However, she had come this far and she wasn’t going to sit in the rental van for however long this might take. It wasn’t like they had been given any guarantees. The last known coordinates of Andrea Sachs’ SPOT device did not indicate that was where they currently were, or that they were okay. Maura looked over at Jane who seemed excitedly curious. The brunette waved at her and then made a ‘vroom, vroom’ motion with her hands over the handlebars. Maura shook her finger at her and they laughed.  
  
Everyone checked the equipment strapped onto the back of the snowmobile one more time. Riley and Tommy checked the GPSs that were strapped to the front of the motorbike. They said that they would have to stop from time to time to check on the group and get their bearings, but they didn’t anticipate any issues getting up on the ridge to the coordinates. They set off with Jane and Tabitha behind them. Miranda and Maura fell into line a little more cautiously. Connor took up the end of the procession.  
  
For a long time they seemed to be following fire roads. Maura felt like she was finally getting the hang of it and occasionally shouted things back and forth with Miranda. Jane and Tabitha occasionally leaned their snowmobile at each other in a weird version of live bumper cars that had started as an accident and then just continued for the amusement factor. After a while Riley turned around and looked over the group, waving to Connor at the back. Jane and Tabitha followed suit, waving and then giggling. Sharing an amused look with Riley, Tommy decided to get up on one knee on the seat and wave back at Connor. Tabitha did it also and if they could have she and Jane would have high fived. Not to be outdone, Riley got up on his knee, waved, and then continued to turn all the way around. Tabitha shouted some encouragement to Jane, who just had to rise to the occasion. Only as Maura watched her daredevil, Jane lost her balance as the snowmobile dipped slightly and she fell off and into the snow.  
  
Tabitha laughed so much it was almost a howl. Miranda and Maura swerved out of the way while Riley hit his brakes. Chuckling Tommy waited until the snowmobile caught up with him and jumped from his own onto Jane’s in order to bring it to a stop. With that it was time for a break.  
  
Stealing a quiet moment, Jane had pulled Maura close to her. “I wish you were riding with me.” Maura had hummed happily. “It would be nice to have your arms around me.”  
  
Slipping out of her embrace, Maura teased her, “And you think I’d let you drive?” The others catcalled at them and Jane blushed a beautiful pink color.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
All things considered the journey was pleasant and uneventful, despite the low-speed drama of Jane falling off her snowmobile during what should have been a low risk stunt. Breaking out some energy bars and Gatorade the group talked about the best way to begin looking. Miranda said that Maura should be in the middle of the search area so that she was close regardless of who found evidence of where they should be next. Maura thought it was quite clever how she had Jane stay with her as they covered 40-meter switchbacks in the relatively open zone where the coordinates were. That left Miranda and Tabitha free to search left of them through the trees and beyond, while the young men searched to the right of them past a low hill and into some more trees. They could wolf out and Jane would be none the wiser as she diligently walked back and forth over ground that clearly was not where the girls, Andrea, Rick, or Emily were. ‘It was a good thing too,’ Maura thought as she adjusted the scarf up over her nose a little better, ‘this area is too open for much hope of survival here.’  
  
Maura had just gotten to the point where she was going to complain. When she heard the emergency whistle that they were all carrying, she couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. Jane stopped and looked up at her, delight coloring her face. There was no doubt that certain aspects of this were tedious at best. “Which way?” Jane pointed across herself crossing her arms.  
  
Maura giggled and held up her finger to indicate that they should listen. The whistle sounded three times again to their right indicating that the gentleman called in to provide support had been well worth it. Jane had begun to get on her snowmobile while Maura watched Miranda and then Tabitha stagger back over towards them. Tabitha was clearly still getting her gear sorted out as she stumbled behind the silver haired woman. Maura giggled as she imagined, Miranda standing there holding the other woman’s gear while she shifted and then ran about in her wolf form. ‘Black wolf,’ Maura considered as she watched them approach. Miranda’s arms came up in a question and Maura waved further over toward where the boys had gone off to search.  
  
They were all revved up on their snowmobiles when they heard the whistle again. Every few minutes they’d blow until the others got to them, that way there was a way for them to follow the sound and catch up. The GPS sensors could send a signal, but they hadn’t spread out so far that they’d switch to them.  
  
When they arrived, they found a blue glove covered in blood. It darkened the mood somewhat, but with nods from Tabitha and Miranda, they could say that they had found evidence that they had certainly made it away from the avalanche. Once again Miranda took the lead, “Gentlemen, if you’ll go back and get your snowmobiles, we’ll get started.”  
  
Not wanting to scramble back to where they had started, Tommy called back from Jane’s snowmobile, “Can Tabitha come too?” It would take more trips but riding back and forth would be quicker.  
  
Sighing Miranda had waved them away two of the boys on Jane’s and the other with Tabitha. “Now, let’s look around here.” Miranda encouraged Jane and Maura to survey the landscape with her. Maura pointed toward the rock faces peeking out through the snow. “Yes, with the winds here, you’d want to be behind those.” Miranda looked back at the snowmobiles and the retreating forms of the others. “I don’t want to separate you two, so I’ll send you ahead to look and stay here for them. It could be a while going back and forth.”  
  
“We’ll look on the way over as well.” Maura indicated before pulling Jane with her to the snowmobile. “You can wrap your arms around me.” She said teasing.  
  
Parking on the Miranda side of the outcropping, Maura and Jane had crawled over the rocks. Just when they had gotten on solid ground, Jane felt the ground under her give way. With a shriek she realized it wasn’t just the sinking through the powder up to your neck way either. Above her she heard Maura begin to blow her whistle.  
  
Realizing that she was more surprised than damaged, Jane felt around herself and then half stood in what she realized was a collapsed tunnel entrance. She had just finished inspecting what was left of the walls and looking back out toward the sunlight when she turned around and came face to face with a large brown wolf. “Uh,” was all Jane could articulate as childhood fears of animals on nature shows eating their prey flashed in her mind with glimpses of elegant wolves running in the moonlight mixed in. She wasn’t sure what she was looking at exactly.  
  
Stuck in that moment before screaming and passing out, Jane realized that the wolf had lowered its head as it stepped closer. Watching it carefully, Jane realized it was sniffing her. Mesmerized by the slow way it was moving, Jane hadn’t realized the wolf had raised its face back up and was giving her a grin. Then it licked her face with one big giant slurp of friendship. Jane squealed despite herself and backed up against the wall of snow behind her. Above she heard the whistle again three times. A smaller red brown wolf poked its head around the large brown wolf and blinked at Jane. From somewhere behind the wolves, she heard, “What’s going on?” Then a red-haired girl appeared around the shoulders of the red brown wolf practically screeching, “Is that a rescue whistle?”  
  
After a lick to her cheek from the red brown wolf, the girl focused on Jane. For her part the brunette wasn’t sure what the hell they’d found, but it seemed like at least one twin was here (and if her lung capacity was anything to go by, she was fine). She had also found wolves, so the theme was continuing on, unless she had hit her head harder than she thought when she fell off that snowmobile. Scrambling now, Jane hoisted herself up out of the hole, where she plowed into Maura taking them both down to the ground. “I found them!” Jane exclaimed before pulling the scarf off Maura’s face and kissing her soundly.  
  
Miranda must have begun moving with the first whistle. The boys and Tabitha took a little longer, but Maura was pleased she didn’t have to whistle anymore once they arrived. Caroline had crawled out of the hole after Jane and rushed to her mother’s arms immediately both sobbing their delight at having the other once more.  
  
With a little more scrambling, Cassidy came out of the hole followed by Andrea and Rick. Miranda opened her arms wide to hug all of her girls together. Then Miranda fawned over each one separately. Waiting to see the wolves again, Jane asked, “What are they doing down there?” She wanted them to see what she saw so she could ask about it. “Why haven’t the wolves come out?” At Maura’s expression Jane added, “I was greeted by a giant brown wolf and then a little red brown one.”  
  
“That would be me.” The tall brunette came over and greeted them. “Sorry about the lick, I was just so happy to see you.” Jane looked the woman over a few times unsure of what she thought she was thinking. The woman turned to Maura, “Eek. Sorry. I mean, she doesn’t know?”  
  
Maura nodded, “She knows but hasn’t seen yet.” Reaching out her hand, Maura introduced herself and Jane.  
  
Blushing again, the woman held out her hand, “Andrea Sachs, or you know, Andy.” Turning back to her mate and the girls, Andrea pointed out, “That’s Cassidy; the little red brown wolf you saw.” Shifting her focus, she added, “That’s Caroline.”  
  
Rick and Tabitha were quite demonstrative in their greetings, which drew another round of catcalls from the support staff. Then all attention turned to the red head who approached Miranda, fell to her knees and promptly burst into tears. The twins rushed to her side speaking into her ear on each side. Stepping up to the red head, Miranda placed a finger under her chin and pulled until the other woman finally looked up at her. The silver haired woman waited until the teary woman had stopped crying until she removed her hand. Looking into her eyes, Miranda leaned down and spoke very clearly to her. “We will sort out pack business when this is through. Until then you are rescued and I am happy to see you.”  
  
Cassidy came forward to her mother then, “You can’t be mad at her, mother. She saved us.”  
  
Caroline pressed between her mother and the red headed woman as well adding, “She took a bullet for us, mom.”  
  
Turning a slow smile up at her children, Miranda quietly said, “As I said I am happy to see all of you.” Then looking at the supplicant woman as well as Andrea, Rick, and Tabitha, she added, “Pack business will wait.”  
  
Knowing that was as good as it was going to get and wanting nothing more than to get away from the tunnel, Andrea and Rick had dug for them, the twins simply hugged their mother tightly once more. An uneasy calm settled over the group as they partnered up for the ride back to the van.

 

 

…


	16. The Third Shot of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This part brought to you by Muse’s third album “Absolution”
> 
> Emily is heroic.

**_Coming Home. Part 16/27._**  
  
The moonlight reflected the full moon’s light in a beautiful way. Business lights were turned off and the streetlights were few and far between. The twins were settled together in the back row of the large van. Their features reflected a peaceful sleep and Miranda wanted nothing to mar their dreams. She could only hope they were coping as well as they appeared to be. Riley, Connor and Tommy had filled out the paperwork they would need for after-hours drop off. Tabitha, Rick, Jane and Andrea were throwing the gear into the van. Maura was checking on Emily’s wound in the front passenger seat. Miranda stood next to the van steadily watching the darkness around them. It could just be the full moon coursing through her veins, but she felt edgy.  
  
The crack of a gunshot resounded from the side of the building that the guys had gone around. Miranda’s body flexed wondering what was going on. She could not leave her children. “Rick, Tabitha.” Her low voice only said their names, but the two immediately were stripping off gear and running toward the noise.  
  
Sensing the tension in the air, Jane closed the doors of the van and went around to stand with Maura. She felt itchy and amped up, like she was ready for a fight. Maura took one look at her and closed the passenger door. “Jane, no matter what you stay by my side.” Her hands were firm and her tone commanding. Jane looked at her like she had never seen her before. Maura reached up and held Jane’s chin in her hands willing her to concentrate. “I’m blondish-brown when I change. Stay with me no matter what, Jane.” Maura was glad when the taller woman nodded her head. “Smell me, Jane. You’ll know me.” Inwardly Maura cursed the timing and thrilled at the possibilities.  
  
Andrea trotted over to where Miranda had been surveying the scene. Her single blue glove stuffed in her jacket, the brunette was fighting with the zipper so she could strip down to the essentials. There had only been one gunshot, but the sounds of fighting could be clearly heard. Miranda stood still, her eyes searching and the wheels in her mind spinning. “This isn’t right.” She murmured to her mate.  
  
Andrea thought about it for a moment, “Nate was acting alone and he’s gone now.” Throwing her jacket to the hard-packed snow, Andrea slid the beanie off her head and pulled her scarf up and over her head instead of unwinding it. “It’s the Facility.” Miranda nodded, but said nothing. “They won’t just be in the back.”  
  
Narrowing her eyes, Miranda pulled at the zipper of her jacket. “They want to lure us back there, split us up.”  
  
Watching the alphas, Maura understood they were readying for a fight. “Jane, you wanna strip down to your thermals or your underwear.” Maura plucked her gloves off and threw them down. Then she took off her jacket and began unzipping her ski bibs. Quickly she pulled her arms out of the dark blue puffy material and folded it down her body.  
  
“What are you talking about?” Jane hissed as she watched her girlfriend strip in the middle of a rather cold night. Wheeling around she saw that Miranda and Andrea were already down to their skin, and listening she still heard the sounds of fighting in the back. Jane felt weird and she looked down at her three-layer covered arm and saw it shimmering. “What the hell is going on?”  
  
Kicking off her snow boots and nearly falling down, Maura grabbed Jane’s hands. “I think you’re going to change, Jane.” Maura yanked the gloves off Jane’s hands and then reached for her zipper. “You stay with me, stay with me, Jane.” The jacket mostly off, Maura went for the front of Jane’s ski pants. Dumbly, Jane shrugged out of the jacket still dangling from her arms. She nearly fell as Maura yanked her pants down to her knees.  
  
Andrea tensed and then was ready to shift as she ran to join the fight. Miranda placed a hand on her overheated skin. “You can’t go to them.” Turning wide eyes on Miranda, the brunette let out a whimper. Snowmobiles turned on within hearing range, their engines loud in the clear night. “We have to protect the girls.” Miranda wasn’t sure what Andrea or Emily had been thinking or doing, but she knew that in the end their ultimate goal had been to protect the girls. She had to trust that instinct was still true, no matter what may come out after. As the snowmobiles approached, Miranda looked at the van where her children were sleeping. She took in the shimmering countenance of Jane and the protectiveness in Maura. She wondered how the fight in the back was going and if she could count on their help or should treat anyone coming from that direction as an enemy. “Back to back in front of the van.”  
  
Andrea nodded at her and then looked around herself. “Jane’s gonna change.” She observed. “That’s rotten.”  
  
Miranda shook herself willing her body to ready for the fight ahead. “She’ll stay close to Maura. If we don’t let them through, then it will be all right.”  
  
Agreeing with a grunt, Andrea turned to face Miranda as the lights from the snowmobiles bathed them in their glow. “I love you.”  
  
Her heart thrumming wildly in her chest, Miranda answered, “And I you.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
On the right three snowmobiles stopped. The men on them quickly hopped off and held up a variety of weapons. The white wolf looked them over, considering what kind of weapons they were and how best to draw out their weaknesses. Across from them four snowmobiles drew to a stop, their lights flooding the area eliminating shadows. These men disembarked from their vehicles in sync and the brown wolf growled wanting nothing more than to fight. On Andrea’s side of the area, the leader stepped forward with his hands up in an ‘I wanna talk’ gesture.  
  
“We want to study you. You’ll be well taken care of.”  
  
Both wolves growled as they inched closer to the Facility goons nearest them.  
  
“They don’t want to come peacefully.” The leader said as he leaned his head back indicating to his men that they should prepare for battle. “You know what to do, gentlemen.”  
  
Miranda couldn’t see it, but she heard the tranquilizer dart fired from the gun. Unfortunately, it was a sound that she would never forget. Dropping her shoulder, Miranda rolled so that the shot went over her. The men coming forward to grab her had already committed to the move before they heard it hit the van with a thud and slid under it. The man threw the weapon wanting to join the others in subduing the white wolf instead of re-loading the gun. Miranda knew it would be a losing fight, but with very molecule of her being she was committed to blocking them from her children.  
  
Not waiting for the men, Andrea bounded forward into the four men in front of her. Exhausted from her time in the elements, Andrea was thankful for the full moon and adrenalin. Instead of fighting like a dog, Andrea had risen up on her back paws so she could push the lead goon into the others. She only succeeded in pushing him into one other man, but she wasted no time as she jumped full body at the next man who had a gun raised at her. For better or worse she was going to protect Miranda’s girls sleeping in the back of that van.  
  
“Oh, my god, Maura, oh my god.” Jane was looking from the fighting wolves and men to her arm that was now steadily shimmering.  
  
Slipping her hands under the hem of her thermal shirt, Maura commanded her. “Take off your top, Jane. Come on. Stay with me.” Her eyes diverted from Jane’s as she heard a loud yip of pain and sounds of fighting, Maura could only hope that Jane was as instinctual as a wolf as she was as a human. If she froze up once in form, then there was very little that Maura could do except guard her. When Maura looked back, there were only shimmers. She groaned and kneeled down as Jane’s wolf whined from closer to the ground.  
  
“You’re beautiful, Jane.” Maura couldn’t help but take the quiet moment to wrap her arms around her sleek black wolf. Breathing her scent in deep, Maura pulled back. “Remember my smell and stay with me.” Maura stepped around Jane to have some room as she allowed the shimmers to claim her human form as well.  
  
Andrea found herself half in a net and half out.  
  
Sensing that her lover was losing the battle Miranda turned. Two of her attackers had broken away when they realized that this was no ordinary wolf and that it was determined to die trying, if not just outright win. The noise of their snowmobiles caused her to growl after them. Her remaining opponent was limping and moving slower than he had been. Running despite her own fatigue, Miranda knocked down the man holding the net from behind. Andrea floundered but did not waste the opening her lover had created as she rolled out of the net. Hands tried to circle her neck and Andrea snapped at them.  
  
Looking at the lighter brown wolf in front of her, Jane felt like she could see and hear everything little thing around them. She had thought that the itching to fight feeling would have gone away with the change, once she had caught on to what Maura was telling her. Instead it seemed to be amplified by the smell of blood, growls, and obvious sounds of struggles around her. Her blood was calling her to join in. Maura head butted her and sniffed her nose. Then with a nod, she ran toward the other two wolves fighting jumping right into it with teeth and paws and vicious growls. For a long second Jane stood with her paws on the cold snow looking at them as if they were in slow motion. When the light brown wolf looked at her for a second, Jane remembered her words, ‘Stay with me.’ Jane’s paws slipped at first on the snow, but she had soon joined in the fight as best she could walking on four legs instead of two. She hadn’t felt this awkward since the Academy.  
  
Emily roused herself in the passenger seat. It had taken more out of her to be in that tunnel with the others than she had realized. Getting shot hadn’t helped, but Rick and Andrea’s emergency training had been top notch considering they were science geeks. With their assistance and natural wolf healing, she had thought she’d do better. As she sat there with everyone packing and Miranda not speaking to her, Emily had decided to rest her head against the glass. She could hope for the best with her eyes closed after all. After the first gunshot she had seen Rick and Tabitha race off and knew it would be a matter of a few minutes. Despite her attempts to stay awake, her eyelids had dropped like guillotines of consciousness. Once the snowmobiles had arrived, Emily was trying to rouse herself into action. Seeing the others stripping down for the fight, Emily opened the van’s door letting the cold air wash over her face. She had slithered down to the ground behind the new ones. She couldn’t remember their names. Stripping down, she wondered where she should jump in first.  
  
Miranda had been pushed further and further away by her opponent. Effectively cutting her off from the others and any hope that she would have their help. Her shoulder hitting the shed wall of the rental place, Miranda staggered on her paws. Two others pushed Andrea toward the snow-covered street. Maura and Jane were squaring off against the fourth one. Heaving in short breaths, Miranda whined as the man kicked at her side again. She hated these slow-motion moments of a fight, because they usually were the moment where she realized the next step, and it was almost always too late to change the tide of the battle.  
  
From the side of the shed two men came running. They each had guns in their hands. Miranda shifted and used her back feet to push away from the shed into her attacker. He hit the ground as the first of the new comers reached the van wrenching open the door. Miranda saw Andrea knock one of her attackers over as the other wrapped his arms around her chest. Maura and Jane took the legs out from under their attacker. Two wolves came from the direction of the newcomers, but they were slow and limping. Miranda lunged forward as the man crawled into the van and the other made to do so.  
  
A fully red wolf rose up from the front wheel well, tripping over the clothes thrown down, but sinking her teeth into the calf of the man at the door of the van. Using her full body weight, Emily yanked the man back away from the van by his leg. Hitting his head on the way down, the man fell unconscious as his gun fell to the ground. Emily dragged him enough that she could use him to spring from his body into the open van door. The vehicle shook as the man turned to struggle with the red animal. Cassidy urged Caroline over the back of their bench seat and then followed her. Pulling the door handle open Cassidy very nearly threw her sister to the ground and then jumped as well.  
  
Everyone froze as the second shot of the night went off. A wolf cried out and then the man was pushing the reddish animal back out of the van. He had spotted the children escaping out the back and was after them with a singular focus. Emily hit the ground with a cry and lay too still. The wolves stood in rapt attention as her body came to a stop. The man shouted, “Come back here.”  
  
All of the wolves jumped into action at that cry. Shifting back to her human form, Emily lunged for the fallen man’s gun laying on the cold snow.  
  
Cassidy shimmered in front of her sister prepared to make a stand.  
  
The third shot of the night cracked out loud and clear in the crystal-clear moonlight. The sickening thud of it hitting the base of the man’s skull before he fell and slid caused everyone to wince. Caroline hit her knees wrapping her arms around her sister’s neck and trying not to lose the energy bars in her stomach. Cassidy curled her body around her sister both to shield her and to look away. Closest anyway, Miranda rushed to them. Maura and Jane rushed to the now human form of Emily. Grabbing their jackets from near the van, Maura draped one over Emily and slipped into the other one herself. The chest wound was oozing a lot of blood and Maura feared the worst. Jane rubbed against her whining. Absently Maura reached out her hand to stroke Jane as she looked over the red headed woman.  
  
Andrea shimmered into human form, grabbed her ski bibs, and then grabbed Miranda’s. She skidded to a halt near the trio. “I need to see you, Miranda. I need to see your face.” Andrea was frantic as she looked the wolves and Caroline over. “You too, little one.” She encouraged Cassidy to change back. “I’ll get you a jacket, something.” Once Miranda began to shimmer, Andrea stepped away gathering their things and figuring she could give Cassidy her thermal pants and jacket to cover up.  
  
The sleek black wolves trotted back toward the side of the building where they had been fighting. As they went they shimmered, shucked back into their clothes, and kept going. The Facility goons they wouldn’t worry about, but Tommy, Riley and Connor had been ambushed and would need their help.  
  
“Miranda!” She knew it was a bad time to shout anything like it was a new emergency, but Emily’s minutes were running out and she had asked to speak to her alpha. “Please come, Miranda.”  
  
Sharing a look with Andrea, Miranda rushed over to Maura. She had to cover her stomach as she took in the smell of blood and could hear Emily’s labored breathing. Behind her she could hear Andrea checking over the girls and assuring them that the fight was over.  
  
Kneeling on the snow, Miranda took Emily’s hand as Maura yielded her position. “Emily, you saved my girls, again.”  
  
Blinking hard and swallowing, Emily shook her head and tried twice to speak. Squeezing Miranda’s hand, she wheezed out, “I pledged to you. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else. I didn’t know. I didn’t know.” Her grip was painful on Miranda’s hand as she repeated her last thought over and over. Miranda heard it when her throat refused to work any longer. She brushed her red hair back from her face watching as her eyelids fluttered. A few seconds later she felt Emily’s grip on her hand loosen.  
  
Miranda let her other knee sink to the snow, tipped her head back and let out a mourning howl. Each wolf closed their eyes, let their head fall back and released the same howl. Even the newest wolf, Jane, joined in their loss with Maura beside her.

 

 

…


	17. Settling in for the night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: she says wolves mate for life. I think that refers to a true full mating bond, but just sex or marriage or procreation. It has to be that draw sort of thing.

**_Coming Home. Part 17/27._**  
  
The girls helped Maura to get Jane into the back of the van and perched on top of the bags. It was awkward and Jane wiggled too much, but eventually they were able to get her settled. They offered for Maura to share their back-row bench on the ride home and slowly settled in. It was just as well that Jane couldn’t change back, because the detective would probably not have liked what Tabitha and Doyle’s wolves came up with for the scene. Ultimately the wolves had acted in self-defense; however, they would have been hard pressed to explain why Emily had been in a gunfight naked. Tabitha and Rick had unnecessarily joined the ruckus in the van, which Maura only realized later was to disguise Tommy, Riley, and Connor taking off with Emily’s body. Focusing once more on the black wolf who seemed pretty uncomfortable and the girls who she hoped didn’t go into shock Maura hoped that they had contacts in the area to arrange proper death rites for the imperfect wolf who died so nobly. A while later and the boys were back, checking the pockets of the unconscious and dead men from the Facility. A call to ‘Work’ on one of the goon’s cell phones had highly amused Doyle’s boys and ensured that a cleanup crew, as well as another attack squad, was en route to the snow mobile shop within the hour. The Facility could not afford to have their men found and activities questioned by the police. Exposure was just as dangerous to them as it was to the Wolves. Emily had killed her killer and justice had been served whether it was on the out-in-the-open side of the law, or on the darker unspoken side of the law, well, that was for each person to come to terms with on their own.  
  
Tabitha yielded her original room to Jane and Maura. It was easier to sneak a wolf into the downstairs room instead of marching it upstairs and down the hall. The boys had gone off to their room. In the remaining room, Tabitha and Rick simply changed into their wolf forms and curled up near the heater on the far side of the room. Happy to be reunited, they said they could ‘re-connect’ later. In any case if the goons tracked them to the hotel, it would be good to have two wolves ready. Patting them on the head, Miranda had crawled into bed with her daughter Caroline while Andrea and Cassidy changed form in the bathroom and then jumped on the bed and curled up at their feet. All in all, it was a fairly efficient use of the rooms they had available.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Maura hung the DND card on the door and slipped the chain into the latch. She could not imagine what Jane was feeling at this moment. Maura could not imagine her first time like this: so late in life, in the middle of a fight, and with none of the gentle reassurance that most wolves were afforded during their change. “You won’t be able to control the change for a while.” Maura stood just inside the door considering her options. Jane sat and let out a huff of indignation. Maura smiled, imagining what would be in Jane’s thought bubble at the moment. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to lecture long.” She smiled at the almost black wolf as she stepped more fully into the room. “After a little bit of practice, you’ll be able to control it.” Maura slid off her beanie, unwrapped her scarf, and then began to unzip her jacket. Her thermals still in the van, or perhaps forgotten on the snow, she was bare underneath the parka. “Full moon will be the hardest, like tonight.” Maura let the jacket slip from her arms and drop to the floor. Her fingers reached up for the zip of her ski bibs. “Enjoy the sensations of being a wolf as much as possible.” Slipping the bibs from her shoulders and then down over her hips, Maura made quite the picture.  
  
Without realizing it, Jane licked her lips and shifted her paws. Scenting the air, she felt a now familiar fire in her veins calling her to action. She wondered if it would always be this way for her now, always wanting Maura. She’d have to learn to control it, but in many ways she felt as if she had always leaned that way and just not realized it. Maybe putting a name to it was like putting the match to her gasoline.  
  
Toeing off the boots she had never bothered to re-tie, Maura stepped out of the ski pants and closer to her wolf. “When we get back, I’ll take you for a run, Jane.” Kneeling in front of the dark wolf, Maura scratched her ears and then moved in to hug her. Her fur was coarse and stiff and Maura enjoyed the sensations of the rough coat against her bare skin. “I promise to run in the moonlight with you.” After many moments, Maura ran her fingers through Jane’s fur, causing her to shiver. Pulling away, Maura added, “But I want to sleep with you in wolf form. I want to share this first night with you.” Scooting back a little Maura called up the shivers in her mind and let them overtake her body. For a second she looked as though she was going to stand, until she simply bounded forward on four tawny legs. Looking back at Jane, she shook her body out and then nudged her neck. Hopping up onto the bed, she tilted her head waiting for Jane to join her.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Exhausted, Andrea had curled up on the bed with her family. In the tunnel, she had been with the girls, but it was not the same as being with her mate. The girls had taken the original fighting in stride and regarded their trip into the snowy wilderness as an adventure. They had enjoyed helping her dig the tunnel. With Emily they showed an incredible amount of love and care. They forgave her mistakes in a way that Andrea thought would have been difficult for Miranda to stomach. Andrea knew that Emily’s loss was going to be hard on them. It would be hard on Miranda too; however, she would have had a hard time overlooking her captain’s mistakes. Andrea’s eyes found her lover breathing peacefully in the darkened room. Miranda had spooned up behind her youngest girl.  
  
Andrea looked at Cassidy on the far side of the bed. The girls and Miranda were everything to her.  
  
Pack business would have to wait, Miranda had said so up on the top of the mountain. Obviously, she had meant Emily who had been on her knees in supplication, but Miranda had taken the time to look at each of the adults in turn. The look she had given Andrea let her know that she had things to answer for as much if not more than Emily. This realization made her heart beat faster in her chest. Miranda hadn’t really spoken much, and definitely not to her. Of course, there were the girls to deal with, the trip down the mountain before the moon had risen, and the fight with the Facility goons, but still they had had little time to re-connect. Now in the early hours of the morning, Andrea worried. Listening to the others rhythmic breathing and occasional grunt or groan, Andrea rested her head on her paws once more.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Grumbling Jane shifted in her sleep. She couldn’t believe that Jo Friday had climbed in bed with her. She was incredibly warm and Jane snuggled into that warmth in her sleep, smiling against the fur, but she still sighed thinking this was not what she signed up for. Wrapping her arm around the belly of the animal in front of her, Jane breathed into the fur and smiled that she was glad Angela had agreed to take care of Jo while she was gone.  
  
At that thought, Jane sat up in the bed looking around her trying to grasp for all the memories she had stored up in the last 24 hours. A tawny wolf, not as dark as that chocolate brown one, was in bed with her. Jo Friday was across the country being spoiled by her mother. Jane scented the air wondering if her behavior was weird. Recognizing Maura’s scent, Jane relaxed a little and reached out to stroke the wiry fur on Maura’s flank. She was a beautiful wolf. Jane remembered seeing her during the fighting and then again before they went to bed. Smiling Jane settled back down beside the wolf, luxuriating in the feel of the fur sliding against her bare skin. For the first time ever, Jane had seen all of Maura, even gone to bed with her and naked no less. Sighing, Jane rubbed her hand down into the fur to feel the heated skin beneath.  
  
Under her fingertips Jane felt Maura awaken. Her chest jolted into awareness and then the body underneath her palm began to shimmer and roll away from her. By the time Maura had rolled over, the change was complete. Jane’s hand had fallen to the sheet between them during her maneuver and Maura reached out to twine their fingers together. “Hi.” She said as she sleepily blinked at Jane.  
  
Smiling, Jane let out a pleased little huff. “Hey yourself.” Pulling Maura by their entwined hands, Jane brought their bodies together fully naked for the first time. “Oh.” She let out a surprised gasp at the feel of Maura’s smooth skin against her own. “You feel amazing.”  
  
Giggling, Maura let go of Jane’s hand to wrap her arm and then a leg around Jane. “Hmmm. Feels good.” Maura hummed as Jane’s leg slipped between her own.  
  
Bringing their lips together for another kiss, Jane wound her fingers up into Maura’s hair. All of her senses on overdrive, Jane could feel the heat of Maura against her. Without trying to, she could smell not only Maura’s natural scent, but her early arousal. Growling into the kiss Jane rolled into Maura pressing her back against the mattress. Dragging her fingers down Jane’s back, Maura arched up into her for more contact. She raised her knee to press against Jane’s sex and moaned when Jane instinctively mimicked her action. Kissing became wet and sloppy as they naturally fell into a thrusting rhythm against each other. Panting Maura pulled away to catch her breath only to growl as she felt Jane bite her neck.  
  
Maura pulled Jane up by the hair to look at her. Her brown eyes dilated to almost black, Jane panted as she looked into the eyes of her lover. With a tinge of awe in her voice Jane whispered, “I’ve never felt like this before.”  
  
Smiling, Maura pulled Jane down for another toe-curling kiss, this time rolling them so that she was on top. “Everything in you is calling out to me.” Maura rolled her hips so that the wet heat of their centers slipped against each other.  
  
“Yes.” Jane choked out as a tremor of pleasure shook her body.  
  
For many moments Maura lost herself in the physical sensations of their bodies writhing together. Knowing that they both wanted more, she reluctantly slid to the side of Jane’s body. “You want completion that only I can give you.”  
  
Short of breath, Jane nodded her head looking into Maura’s eyes. “Please.”  
  
Taking Jane’s hand, Maura pulled Jane until she was facing her. Guiding Jane’s fingers into her wet heat, Maura could not help the long moan escaping from her as her hips canted into Jane’s caress. “Look at me, Jane.” Maura trailed her fingers down Jane’s side causing goose bumps to break out on her skin. Her fingertips playing in the wetness of Jane’s sex, Maura waited until Jane could look into her eyes. “Wolves mate for life, Jane.” Maura’s voice was so sensual in that pure moment between them that it brought tears to Jane’s eyes. Sliding two fingers to claim her mate, Maura’s eyes fell closed as Jane copied her making them one. Hips gyrating, palms stroking against clits, and mouths trying to kiss and failing—Jane and Maura lost themselves to each other until the overwhelming ecstasy of mutual completion washed over them.

 

 

…


	18. Please accept my pledge

**_Coming Home. Part 18/27._**  
  
Hungry, the girls rose earlier than the adults would have liked. They showered, stole clothes from Tabitha and persuaded her to take them down to the coffee shop. Filling a glass with water, Miranda settled into one of the hotel chairs. Almost losing her daughters in addition to Andrea, Emily, and Rick meant that pack business could only wait so long. Miranda had woken during their daylight sleep and taken solace in her family being put back together on the bed with her. As she looked around the room and listened to the sounds of the day passing by outside, she had to wonder what chain of events had led to this outrageous rescue mission working with mobsters, possibly wrecking Maura’s sanctuary, pulling another of the Lost Ones into their second nature, in addition to the problems it all pointed to within her own pack. In her sleep, Caroline had hugged her arm tighter just at that moment and Miranda had let tears of joy fall into the girl’s hair until she dropped off to sleep once more.  
  
Rick and Andrea looked at each other as soon as the door shut on the others. They took up positions in front of Miranda’s chair and kneeled in supplication.  
  
“I pledge to you.” Andrea looked into Miranda’s eyes and then lowered her face to stare at the ground.  
  
Rick eagerly echoed her words with his own, “Please accept my pledge.”  
  
Miranda considered the equally dark headed Andrea and Rick. In the two years since realizing their wolf nature, both had been fully included in the pack and adjusted to the customs within its structure. Pledging and reaffirming pledges was not something to be undertaken lightly. Miranda had to wonder that this was their first private reaction, which made her flash back to the fact that it was Emily’s first reaction regardless of privacy. That her captain died a hero’s death made it all the more difficult to understand why her dying words were an apology. Indeed, it made her wonder why her twin girls had rushed to her defense upon their rescue.  
  
Inhaling, Miranda considered this the best place to start. “Why do you pledge to me now? Why did Emily pledge to me upon your rescue?”  
  
Neither brunette looked up and Miranda arched an eyebrow as Andrea responded. “In times of pack stress or war, it is appropriate to pledge or renew a pledge to the alpha.” Andrea looked up with tears in her eyes. “To pledge to you.” She choked out over her roiling emotions.  
  
Tilting her head, Miranda considered Rick before he too replied. “Like the military when things get screwed up, it is appropriate to redefine the command structure.” He looked up to meet Miranda’s blue eyes with his own darker ones. “I pledge to you.”  
  
Considering their answers, open expressions, and continued physical attitude of supplication, Miranda deemed their answers worthy, though lacking. “And Emily?” She prompted them knowing that their reluctance to elaborate indicated a desire to conceal the reason.  
  
“The moment I saw Nate, I called Andrea to seek advice.” Rick knew that he should have called one of the captains, but given that he would have called Emily, he wasn’t sure if the situation would have gone down differently.  
  
When Rick looked over at Andrea, she picked up the story. “Rick said he wasn’t sure if Nate had even seen them but thought I should know.” A tear slid down, Andrea’s cheek as she continued. “I thought I could join the girls, offer added protection.”  
  
As her voice faltered, Rick continued, “By the time Andrea had arrived, Nate had definitely zeroed in on the girls. He approached me while the girls were in a store, hoping to secure my help.” Rick shook his head. “We met with Andrea and the girls were so excited to show her around.” Rick motioned to the room, “It wasn’t like there was much, but it was their ‘first big girl trip’ as they called it.” Rick smiled thinking about how happy they had been.  
  
Andrea’s voice indicated the change in the story, “We were talking about going for a final night ski, before leaving in the morning. I had convinced them that there was a surprise at home that I couldn’t wait for them to see.” Andrea flexed her hands into fists to hold off her emotions. “Emily was knocking on the door.”  
  
Eager now, Rick interrupted, “They were so surprised to see her. They practically were pulling her out the door to come with us. We didn’t even know why she was here.”  
  
Nodding, Andrea picked up, “The girls ran ahead to the shuttle stop. Tabitha was asking questions.”  
  
Rick’s voice held the tone of regret as he spoke about his lover. “Tabitha thought we should stay in for the evening and then leave first thing in the morning. We told Emily about Nate and she knew already. Tabitha said that if Emily knew without us even calling her then that was trouble. We argued on the sidewalk.”  
  
Andrea cut in, “The girls finally came and got us. Tabitha reluctantly let us go, saying that she hoped we knew what we were doing.”  
  
Rick sighed as he explained, “We thought it was just Nate and with the three of us we could take him.”  
  
Cursing all of their youth and lack of experience, Miranda shook her head. How many times had she had to make similar decisions? To face a potential enemy or danger alone, with a friend, or two, or three—as an individual that decision was made daily. Traveling to Boston on her own, only to end up in a brawl with Patrick Doyle on his home turf—that was a decision that she made to face a danger on her own instead of with back up. Then again, Miranda had made that decision along with a few others that week on the expectation of not making it out alive. She had not made that decision while in a position of responsibility for others and certainly not someone’s pups.  
  
Three wolves versus one renegade wolf should have been a slam-dunk, and yet it was not. It was an unqualified disaster that had left four dead in an avalanche just for starters.  
  
Andrea and Rick looked at each other wishing that Weres had telepathy and then knowing that Miranda would know what they were thinking anyway. Neither wanted to go into the rest of the details where the train not only jumped the track, but somehow flew out into interplanetary orbit.  
  
Gamely, Andrea voiced the next piece of the puzzle. “We were at the top of the run. Nate skied over to us. He tried to talk to me and then to the girls. We took up defensive positions.” Andrea made sure to visualize the scene in her mind so that she did not leave out details. “I asked Rick about the path we were intending to go down, and trailblazing back.”  
  
Nodding as he confirmed this, Rick continued, “I suggested trailblazing because Nate would have a harder time keeping up with us and we could change routes at any moment. The girls were going to follow me and Andrea was going to take the rear. Emily said she would block Nate.”  
  
Andrea sat back on her heels then as she continued. “I didn’t know why she was so adamant about it. I could take Nate.” She shook her head and wiped at her eyes. “Then there were these guys and Nate lunged at them which threw all of us off. I told Rick and the girls to go. The other two guys went for Emily and I joined the fight.”  
  
Rick shifted his knees obviously uncomfortable, but not wanting to give into it yet. “I saw that they had guns, so I took off with the girls. We had zig-zagged through the trees for about five minutes when we heard shots. The girls paused shouting at me and then I heard this noise.” Rick shook his head obviously still haunted by the sound. “It was like something out of a movie, that you never pay attention to, but then all of a sudden its loud and clear and you know exactly what that sound is. I rushed back to the girls and urged them to keep going sideways instead of down.”  
  
Sucking in a ragged breath of air, Andrea explained, “One of them shot Nate. One of them shot Emily. The third shot went wild triggering the avalanche.” Miranda clenched her hands into fists as she realized where the third shot must have been aimed. Andrea continued, “I heard that sound and I would never have thought that I knew what it was, but I was grabbing Emily pulling her against me so that we were sort of skiing together. I just went blind through the trees trying to hold her up and hoping I was getting out of the way.”  
  
Settling down to the floor, Rick crossed his legs. “When the roaring stopped and we had still trekked for a good five minutes, the girls demanded that we stop.”  
  
Switching to cross her legs as well, Andrea shook her head. “I was still running blind; pushing and pulling Emily to go. I figured when we collapsed then we had gone far enough. Eventually I was pulled out of my stupor by the girls and Rick calling to us.”  
  
Holding his hand up to his shoulder, Rick elaborated. “Emily had been shot in the shoulder. We lay her down and unclipped her skis. The girls put pressure on the wound to stop it from bleeding while Andy and I checked the first aid kits.”  
  
Andrea tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I hit the 911 button on my SPOT tracker, but I don’t know what happened.” She shrugged and then lifted her hand before letting it impotently fall to her thigh again. “I don’t know if it was too cold or what, but it didn’t give the proper sequence back. I tried a few times, but the wind was whipping up and it looked like a storm was rolling in.” Miranda could see Andrea retracing her steps in her eyes. “We went further up the ridge and decided to dig a tunnel. I wanted to build an igloo, but Rick pointed out that it would take too long.”  
  
Picking up there, Rick added, “I didn’t want Emily to go into shock and I didn’t want to be caught out in a storm.”  
  
A knock on the door surprised them all. After a nod from Miranda, Rick scrambled up to see who was at the door. Maura looked sheepish outside on the walkway. “Come in.” Miranda called from within the room.  
  
Wringing her hands together, Maura stepped in. Looking at Andrea sitting on the floor and Miranda in the chair, she realized that she was interrupting pack business. “I’m so sorry for interrupting, but we realized that Jane didn’t have any clothes.” Her blush made them all smile despite the serious nature of their discussion.  
  
“Treasure it, Maura. Treasure your time together with Jane while you can.” Miranda smiled and motioned into the room to welcome her. “We were in need of a break, I think.” She looked at Andrea and Rick, releasing them from their spots on the floor. “If you are venturing out, would you be a dear and check on my little ones?”  
  
If possible Maura blushed even more than before as she nodded. “Yeah, we are pretty famished, so that was the next stop.” She pointed to the bundle of clothes that she had grabbed from Jane’s bag and her own. “Until we realized, clothes.” She smiled and held up the bundle, which was when they all realized that despite the wet hair from a recent shower and that clean smell, Maura was still in the ski jacket and bibs from the previous day. “We’ll check on your girls, Miranda. Thank you.” With that, Maura excused herself slipping out the door and making sure that it clicked behind her.  
  
Andrea stood with a glass of water at the doorway of the bathroom looking at Miranda. Rick had wandered over to the window looking down at the sign for the coffee shop. He was hungry and he missed Tabitha already. After a few moments, Miranda prompted them once more. “I assume that you dug the tunnel, waited out the storm, helped Emily to heal, and generally waited.” Both of her subordinates looking at her then, Miranda jumped to the heart of the matter. “What you have failed to explain is how Emily got there or more importantly why she was there, if, as you indicated, you had not called her. What did she think was going on?”  
  
Jumping in, Andrea set her glass down on the table and then resumed her sitting position on the floor. As she went, she began, “Once Emily regained consciousness, she was a little delirious so it took us a while to piece it together.” Hugging her knees, Andrea wrapped one hand around the other wrist. “The Facility called Emily.” She shook her head. “She said she revealed the twins location.”  
  
Rick piped in, “They called her about McKenna.” Looking at Miranda, he seemed to realize that they could now ask the questions they had been unable to ask. “Did something happen to her? Emily was out of her mind over McKenna.”  
  
Andrea let out the breath she had been holding, “She said something about the way they asked her about the twins and McKenna, that they tricked her. She told them that they couldn’t possibly have the twins, because they weren’t with McKenna.” Andrea looked at Rick as she continued. “She was weeping that she had messed up, that she loved McKenna, never wanted to hurt the girls.” Andrea looked at Miranda, “She said that she had hoped to get the girls to safety before the Facility could get to them. She wanted to redeem herself for the mistake.”  
  
Miranda felt each detail drop into place to complete the picture. The story created read like a Greek tragedy as tiny misjudgments added up until the price to fix the wrongs truly was too high. Emily had given her life to recover the loss created by her mistake. The tears welled in her eyes and Miranda reined them in. Her voice thick with conflicting emotions, Miranda asked her final question. “Why did they call Emily about McKenna?”  
  
Andrea sighed and waved her hand in a way that indicated she would only be guessing. “Based on what she said, I think they wanted to lure one of us out and ultimately bring down the whole pack.”  
  
Rick rocked his shoulder against the window-sill where he was standing. “They knew Emily had fallen for McKenna. I think they baited her with it.” Rick turned when he heard Miranda’s gasp. “If McKenna had met Emily first, she might have had a chance.” He smiled as he looked from Miranda to Andrea and back. “A wolf mates for life.” He tilted his head thinking of Tabitha. “Serena and McKenna are a mated pair. I don’t know what would have happened in the long run if Emily could have loved again.” Rick put a hand over his stomach as it growled. “That’s just my guess, but it sure sounded like whatever else was going on, Emily was convinced that the Facility had McKenna.”  
  
Miranda rose then and beckoned both of them to her. “McKenna went missing not long before you came out here on your misguided mission.” Miranda indicated her disapproval to Andrea, then she turned to include Rick. “We will speak more on this but know that I am grateful for the dedication you have shown the girls.” After a pause in which she looked each of them in the eye, Miranda added, “And to me.” Reaching out and resting a hand on each of their closest shoulders, Miranda added. “I accept your pledges.” With a stomach gurgle from Andrea, the silver headed alpha smiled and said, “Let’s go eat, then you can clean up.”

 

 

…


	19. Neutral Territory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the Pack Notes on ‘Caught Moon/NYC’:  
> Jake—pack member, sided with Stephen, questions Andrea at the meeting, has electrical skills perhaps construction  
> Shelby—pack member, arrived with Jake, has a somewhat criminal and technological past

**_Coming Home. Part 19/27._**  
  
Knowing her pack had not been compromised, warmed Miranda’s heart. She had gone from losing everything to mostly recovered in a matter of weeks. The renewed threat of the Facility had been revealed, and she had allies to attack them in numbers the Facility had no way of reckoning. Nigel didn’t like sitting this fight out, especially not with Patrick Doyle around, but he understood the need for keeping up appearances in New York. He offered to stage a public outing with Eric Striffler and the girls in order to draw the press’ collective eye. Jake and Shelby, already en route to Boston, would rendezvous with Connor and Riley. With his injuries, Tommy had opted to head home and hopefully join them by show time.  
  
The group was through airport security in no time and then stuck hanging out before going to their gates. Rick and Tabitha left the group first having an earlier flight that unfortunately routed them through Charlotte. When the twins pulled Andrea and Jane away to load up on snacks, Miranda turned to Maura, “I’ve called Constance.”  
  
Maura’s face fell and she turned from watching Jane to look at the woman beside her. “You had to.” The slight upswing of her tone made it a question, but they both knew the answer. “Jane is going to be beside herself with Patrick and Constance. Please tell me that they are coming from opposite directions or meeting us there or something.” She just loved it when complicated wasn’t enough and had to add a whole new level of berserk to things.  
  
Miranda motioned to the hard, green airport seats. “I don’t want them in the same room any more than you do, dear.” A firm hand on Maura’s knee provided small comfort. “Joining us to fight the Facility is only wolf business in the sense of preserving the species.” Miranda patted the other woman’s leg again and then clasped her hands in her lap. “Afterwards, they will want to claim Jane for their packs.”  
  
Groaning, Maura closed her eyes. ‘Of course, the alphas of the local packs would want Jane to join a pack.’ Maura knew it, as sure as she knew that Miranda knew it—after all that was why she had tried to run away that first night at Maura’s house. “Good grief.” Maura whispered as she leaned against the stiff back of the chair. “Jane can’t stand either one of them.”  
  
Miranda hummed her response and then stood to greet her children and the brunettes with them. After dutifully cataloguing the merchandise, Miranda outstretched her hand to Andrea. The brunette looked at it for a long second before reaching out and clasping it firmly in her own. Turning to Maura and Jane, the silver haired alpha, bid them goodbye. “The gate will be open soon. We will see you in Boston.” With their nods, Miranda and Andrea turned and made their way to the concourse—each with a twin holding their other hand.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Opening the door, Jane’s jaw dropped. She took in the older man’s cane and wondered if he was injured or trying out a new weapon. Really, she didn’t want to know, but she supposed she just couldn’t help her inquisitive nature. Forcing a smile, Jane stepped back from the door and motioned down the hall. “Please, come in.” She tried very hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. If they hadn’t warned her and cautioned her about playing nice with the alpha, Jane knew she wouldn’t have made it this far into the encounter.  
  
“Detective.” Patrick Doyle limped into the house, greeting her with a warmth that she did not want to acknowledge. Although she was pleased to note the limp, which apparently answered her unspoken question about the cane. He stepped past her into the entryway and waited while Jane closed the door. When she turned confused brown eyes on him, he smiled. “For all wolves, this is a place of sanctuary.” At Jane’s raised eyebrows, he added, “I tell you this because wolves do not always agree, but there can be no fighting here.”  
  
Jane mulled this over in her mind. She felt better knowing that there wasn’t going to be a brawl in the kitchen and that perhaps Maura was also safe. “Neutral territory?” She mused out loud.  
  
Patrick nodded and hooked his arm in Jane’s elbow. “With your induction into our world, I’m guessing that not a lot of time has been spent on protocols.” At the entry of the kitchen, he let her arm go and added, “I don’t want you to get in trouble with the wrong wolves.”  
  
Momentarily stupefied, Jane watched after him with wide eyes. Constance and Maura were speaking in hushed tones at one corner of the table while Miranda stood to greet the new arrival. “You’re healing quite nicely, Patrick.” When he laughed grimly and waved her off, the silver haired woman added, “I’m sorry we had words before.”  
  
Jane stood watching the three alphas interact at the table as Maura excused herself to the living room where she could check on the unlikely combination of Connor and Riley talking to Miranda’s computer and electrical experts, Shelby and Jake. Looking around again she remembered that Andrea, the girls and a few of Constance’s associates had gone to meet Rick and Tabitha. If the gathering got any bigger they’d have to go out. She leaned back against the cupboards of the kitchen trying to imagine going to the Dirty Robber with a pack of wolves. She remembered asking Miranda if she had ended up in a bar fight with Paddy Doyle. Hearing her apology to him now and watching as he rubbed his neck made Jane repeat that conversation in her head looking at it from a different direction. He hadn’t felt sorry for Miranda and dumped her out on the street. Shaking her head, Jane found her respect for the silver haired socialite increasing. He had not let her off easy. No, she had kicked his ass, leaving him with a limp. Given the wolf tendency for stripping, Jane realized that Miranda must have vaulted the back fence in wolf form, only to arrive naked on Maura’s back door step.  
  
“You okay?” Maura asked as she slipped up on her distracted lover.  
  
At first Jane turned unseeing eyes on her as she focused back to the world at hand. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just, um, just thinking.”  
  
Taking Jane’s hand in her own, Maura pulled Jane down the hallway. As if reading her mind, Maura whispered, “I can’t believe she hurt him that bad. He never takes that long to heal.” Jane might have wondered at how well her mate’s thoughts mirrored her own, but then she was being pushed back against the bedroom door.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Angela had come home to a house full of strangers and sprung into a delightful flurry of activity as she fussed over everyone and began to make a nice big family dinner. After the drama of the past few days, Jane and Maura shared loving smiles as they relaxed into the comfort of their home complete with Angela Rizzoli ruling the roost. Patrick and Constance had made their exit long before the matriarch’s arrival, but all the ‘omegas’ (Maura had whispered the term to her with a smile) had stayed to discuss strategy and compare scars or whatever nonsense. Apparently, they delighted in the opportunity to socialize on neutral ground.  Jane couldn’t really be bothered to listen, but she thought that her brother Frankie would love to hang out with these guys. That thought brought her up short as she looked at her mother with obvious horror.  
  
Tuned in to her lover as she was, Maura immediately put a hand on her thigh and whispered into the shell of her ear. “What’s wrong, Jane?” Rubbing her thigh, she added, “You can’t look all freaked out like that or they’ll ask about it.”  
  
Scratching the side of her head to give cover, Jane spoke quietly out of the side of her mouth, “Is ma gonna wolf out?”  
  
Maura couldn’t help the sudden chuckle over Jane’s discomfort and the image of Angela Rizzoli biting people. She quickly covered her mouth and hoped no one had heard Jane. Looking around the table at the animated conversations she was mostly relieved, until she got to a very knowing smirk on Miranda Priestley’s face. Her head tilt in the direction of Mrs. Rizzoli confirmed that she had heard Jane’s comment. ‘At least she seems amused.’ Maura thought as she returned to her meal. “We don’t know that much about the Lost Ones, Jane. Only three of you have revealed your second nature after growing up as human. Not enough data has been collected.”  
  
Feeling Jane’s eyes on her, Maura stopped talking and looked to her companion. “Lost Ones? Three of us?” Jane shook her head. “Story for another time, I’m sure.” Looking around the table, Jane returned to Maura and figured they could say names at the table without Angela picking up on the topic. “Who?”  
  
For a brief second Maura marveled at the thought that the only specimens to have crossed over were all sitting together at her dining table. It was truly wondrous to her scientific brain. Remembering to answer before Jane got impatient, she listed them, “Andrea Sachs, Rick Folger, and you, Jane.” After a few moments of internally debating, she followed up with, “Nathaniel Cooper also was a Lost One who changed, but since it was forced something seems to have gone wrong about that. I don’t know whether we should count him really. So yes, three.”

 

 

…


	20. While the alphas meet...

**_Coming Home. Part 20/27._**  
  
Maura stepped out of the en suite and paused to look at her lover. On the far side of the bed, Jane lay on her side facing Maura. From the furrow on her brow, Maura knew that she was lost in thought and wondered what was consuming her mind now. She had groused about not being included in the planning session going on in Maura’s kitchen, and only acquiesced to not make a scene when Maura pointed out that only the three alphas were actually in the kitchen area once the meeting had started. Even Andrea, or perhaps especially Andrea, had been sent from the room. Maura pointed out that everyone had some kind of job to do, which made it less obvious that they were not allowed in the room. She had explained that wolf culture operated on many of these unseen and unspoken rules. Andrea stayed with the girls, while the others compared notes about previous missions and talked strategy. Smiling Maura remembered dragging Jane to her bedroom since she didn’t have a job to worry about at least within the present wolf culture.  
  
“Hey.” Maura greeted Jane as she slid under the sheets with her. “What are you thinking about?”  
  
Jane pulled Maura close and wrapped her arms around her. “Was it weird for you to have both of them in your house?”  
  
Planting a gentle kiss on Jane’s lips, Maura rolled away from Jane so that she could tuck backwards against her. She pulled Jane’s arms where she wanted them and savored the heat of their bodies naked against each other in her bed. It was better than she had ever hoped for since that first time Jane accidentally fell asleep in her bed. “It was a little odd having them both in the same room.” Maura acknowledged. “Growing up I didn’t know any of this existed at all.” She could feel Jane’s question before she even could form the words. It made her smile. “Wolf society is kept a secret until someone changes.” Her mind always pushing for accuracy, Maura expanded her answer. “Under special circumstances a non-Were can be welcomed into Wolf Society, but it’s pretty unusual. For example, Miranda’s younger daughter, Caroline, does not change. They had hoped that with the twin aspect it might be possible for both girls to shift, but it’s been two years so it’s not likely to happen. If she had not been with her sister and Andrea the night of their first phase, then she would have been kept in the dark.”  
  
Jane squeezed Maura as she realized two things, “That would have been awful for her to feel left out and not even know why.” Pulling away a little Jane asked quietly, “How did you keep it from me? I thought you couldn’t lie?”  
  
Maura turned halfway in Jane’s embrace and looked into her eyes. “For me it’s a little different. I’m not part of a pack so generally there’s a lot less wolf business going on around me.” Smiling up at her lover, Maura continued, “As far as telling lies, well, it took you five years to ask me if I was a wolf.”  
  
Groaning Jane relaxed her arms and was about to roll away when Maura held her tighter around her. “Oh, come on. How was I supposed to know we were sharing dreams and that we were running around in the moonlight on four legs?” When Maura just giggled at her detective, Jane quietly murmured. “There’s so much I don’t know, Maura. I feel a little lost.”  
  
Maura stroked the skin of Jane’s arm and rolled so that she was lying on her back while Jane faced her. “Most of being a wolf is instinctual, Jane.” Taking Jane’s hand Maura pressed it against the skin of her stomach. “In a pack you have to follow certain rules and every pack has their own rules. Mostly it comes down to pledging your loyalty to the master of the pack and then acting according to that pledge.” Maura brought Jane’s hand up so that Jane’s palm covered her breast. “The moon, mood swings, and fighting—you’ve already experienced.” With guiding pressure Maura encouraged Jane to massage her breast. “Your instincts are good, Jane. You’ve never doubted them before.” Maura’s breath caught as Jane’s fingertips brushed against her hardening nipple. “You’ve never been with a woman before me, but you let your instincts guide you, right?” Maura held Jane’s hand firmly against her breast as she looked into her eyes to prove a point.  
  
Smirking and thinking of their first time, Jane nodded, “Yes. My instincts and you apparently.” Jane pointedly looked down to Maura’s hand holding hers.  
  
Her eyebrows teasingly rose up and then back down as Maura smirked right back. “I promise to help you, Jane.” With that same guiding pressure as before, Maura pulled Jane’s fingers down to her sex where she pressed them into the arousal that had been gathering there from the moment she saw Jane in her bed. “You’re a fast learner.” Maura moaned as Jane’s hand slid further down. With two fingers Jane claimed Maura and pressed her palm against her clit. Her body clenched in sympathy as she felt Maura’s muscles flex. Jane slipped her leg over Maura’s to open her more fully to her hand as she kissed her lover.  
  
Maintaining the kiss with Maura was difficult as her hips began matching Jane thrust for thrust so the brunette kissed down her jaw and then began to pay attention to her neck. Inhaling their combined scents made Jane wild as she ground against Maura’s leg. It was enough to arouse her, but not satisfy her. Without even realizing it, Jane was growling against Maura’s throat with her teeth brushing against the skin as she writhed more and more wildly in her desire to please Maura. Suddenly Maura’s legs spread wider, her head fell back on her neck as her body arched up into Jane, and a long low howl escaped her throat.  
  
Jane’s eyes flashed in the darkened room as she continued to feel Maura’s pleasure rippling through her. Her body felt as electric as it had the night of the fight. She wondered if she was going to change and felt only grounded by the slow tremors still causing Maura to thrust against her hand.  
  
When Maura came back to herself, she pulled Jane’s face to her for a ravenous kiss. “Oh, Jane, Jane, Jane.” Maura started to roll into Jane but stopped when the brunette began to pull her fingers away from her sex. “Oh, no, no, no, no. You stay right there.” Maura held Jane’s hand exactly where she wanted it as she straddled Jane’s abdomen. She allowed Jane to shift so that she wasn’t in danger of spraining her wrist, but then she held Jane’s fingers in place as she lowered herself on one arm to kiss Jane.  
  
This lip lock clawed at the edges of control. Jane bit Maura’s lower lip as she felt Maura’s body thrum with pleasure on an aftershock. Maura laughed as she pulled back and taunted her with almost kisses and the brush of her nipples against Jane’s. “I feel like I’m going to change.” Jane told her lover as she continued to tease her.  
  
Grinding her hips down against Jane, Maura whispered in her ear. “Try to control it.” She pulled Jane’s earlobe between her teeth as she added, “You wouldn’t want to miss this.” Pushing herself up, Maura was a sight to behold over Jane with her messed up hair, erect nipples bouncing with her every movement, and that sheen of sweat covering her skin in the glow of sex.  
  
Jane felt her arousal drip down between her legs and Maura stretched backward letting her fingers dip at last into the folds of Jane’s drenched sex. Knowing she wasn’t going to last long, Jane opened her legs inviting Maura to take all of her. Maura did not disappoint as her body rode her own ecstasy while it built Jane’s to a peak. Rolling her hips under Maura, Jane forced herself to look through fluttering eyelids at the rocking movements of Maura’s body. Wanting Maura all over again, Jane began touching Maura, smearing her arousal all over her sex and massaging it in circles around her clit. Jane loved how she had slipped into this shared headspace where she was certain she could feel what Maura felt as she fucked her and that Maura could feel what she felt. Losing herself to her body and the shared mental pleasure-scape, Jane tumbled with Maura calling out their release into the abyss of climax. Sleep had never been so blissful as it was with Maura draped over her body.

 

 

…


	21. Quiet Summons

**_Coming Home. Part 21/27._**  
  
Andrea had spent many long moments in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror. Her mother’s words inescapable in her mind: ‘look at yourself, really look, don’t touch your face or play with your hair, and think about what you want in life and what you have done.’ Growing up there were many scenes like this one. It was never easy to still herself long enough to truly search her soul, yet she found that the times she had bothered to really look had been worthwhile. She had gone to Colorado to deal with Nate, keep the twins safe and come back home. In one way or another all three of those things had been accomplished. It was good to be reunited with Miranda and know that the girls were sacked out in Maura Isles’ living room. Miranda had greeted her with open arms on top of the mountain. She had fought side by side with her against those goons. The bed had been shared with the twins, but she was welcome in it. At the airport, Miranda had made sure to hold her hand as well as the twins.  
  
Yet Andrea found herself staring at eyes full of tears and feeling for all the world that while she had everything she wanted that it was slipping away.  
  
“Andrea.” Sometimes that quiet summons was a seductive call from her personal siren. Other times it was a quiet question about something or other that brunette had done. Andrea shivered as she recognized this as a request for her presence nothing more and nothing less. Looking back at herself in the mirror, she knew one thing—it could not be ignored.  
  
Crossing the mostly dark room, Andrea stopped next to the bed wondering if it would be appropriate to shift and curl up at Miranda’s feet. Grabbing the cotton of the large nightshirt she had been loaned, Andrea looked at Miranda as she patted the bed next to her in invitation. Lifting the sheet, Andrea lifted her leg and turned to slide into the bed when she heard Miranda ‘humph’ at her. Hurt from the rejection Andrea froze and looked at Miranda.  
  
“Take that off.” Miranda ordered her as she flapped the sheet back punctuating her words with her body language.  
  
Slipping the blue cotton over her head, Andrea crawled into the cool sheets next to Miranda. She kissed her mate and then lay on her back wondering how long the awkwardness would rule between them. She had explained herself. Miranda had understood. She had apologized. Miranda had forgiven her. Somehow Andrea still felt like it was only right on the surface.  
  
“You took a long time.” Miranda said quietly as she watched her lover in the darkness.  
  
Andrea flexed her hands into fists at her sides. She wanted to touch Miranda, to scream, to, oh, she didn’t even know what she wanted. “Is this our first fight?” Andrea turned onto her side, tears in her eyes once again, but not willing to back down.  
  
“I don’t remember punching you.” Miranda said archly. Counting her breathing, Miranda kept an even pace and took four breaths. It was all she could stand with Andrea looking at her like that. Reaching across the distance between them, Miranda trailed fingertips against Andrea’s temple, over her eyebrow, across her cheek, and along the bow of her lips. “I don’t know if it is a fight, perhaps it is more of a crossroads.” As the emotions broke within Andrea, she let out a sob. In an instant, Miranda had closed the distance with her body to wrap her younger woman in her arms.  
  
“That sounds awful.” Andrea sobbed against Miranda’s chest. “I want to go down your road.” Miranda stroked her back letting Andrea find her breath again before continuing.  
  
Sighing Miranda kept her hold on Andrea tight knowing that her younger mate needed the security of their contact. As much as she wanted the intensity of eye contact, Miranda would not hurt Andrea more than she had to. Working through anger did not mean that she wanted Andrea to suffer any more than she already was. Pressing Andrea’s head against her chest so that she could feel as well as hear her voice, Miranda found a place to begin. “A crossroads is a place of decision, not necessarily separation.” Miranda hummed against the top of Andrea’s head letting her feel that she wasn’t going anywhere. “We have had disagreements along the way as you know. I am no more perfect than you are, Andrea.” At Andrea’s weepy snort of agreement, Miranda smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I have only truly been angry with you once before now. Do you remember?”  
  
Andrea thought back to their petty disagreements until she recalled another time in another bathroom staring at her refection. “The time McKenna and I went back to my apartment on our own and were attacked.” Andrea sniffed, but only tightened her hold on Miranda.  
  
“What was the source of my disappointment at the time?” It was a quiet question and Andrea realized that although Miranda was deeply upset with her, she was trying to help her navigate through it. She felt that they would be okay once they got to the other side.  
  
Kissing the skin closest to her mouth Andrea answered, “You didn’t want to lose me and I needed to realize the danger of what I was doing.”  
  
As the words replayed in her mind, Andrea realized that here they were two years later and she had done the same exact thing only this time it was infinitely worse and she couldn’t say she didn’t have at least a little clue about the possible danger. She had rushed into a situation that had more variables than she could ever have calculated with no thought to the potential dangers not only to herself, but to Caroline, Cassidy and anyone else nearby. Realization of what she had done as Miranda’s world was ripped from her washed over Andrea and she sobbed her guilt and regret. Thrashing Andrea tried to push Miranda away from her. Instead of letting go, Miranda held her loosely in her arms while calling her name over and over. “Andrea, Andrea, Andrea, shhh, love. Come back to me.” After many moments, Andrea stilled in her arms going almost rigid.  
  
“You must hate me, Miranda.” Not moving a muscle, Andrea’s voice oozed the dread she was drowning in. “You thought the girls had died.” Andrea was panting. Her mouth was over full of saliva and she thought she might choke on the thought of how it would feel to think that those two girls were dead. Miranda rubbed at her skin gently, yet she kept her silence needing Andrea to fully pass through this moment so that they could move forward. “I was missing and with each passing day you must have thought I was dead or never coming back.” Andrea’s body shook with the sheer amount of effort she was putting into not moving. She would not allow herself the comfort of Miranda’s arms when she finally understood just how much she had hurt her. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t meant to, that she meant well, or that it had even worked out in the end. It needn’t have happened this way and Andrea knew in her heart that it had been within her power to change how this all happened. With that came the horrifying realization that not only Nate, but perhaps Emily as well, need not have died.  
  
Despite keeping her body taut and trying not to use Miranda for comfort, Andrea realized that she was still being held. Miranda was not crushing her to her body or forcefully keeping her, yet she had moved with her keeping a loose touch throughout the emotional explosion. Sighing as a silent tear slipped from her eye, Andrea realized that Miranda was still there and physically promising to continue to be there. It didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed or angry, but she was present.  
  
After many long moments where each of them caught their breath and then synced to each other, Miranda asked, “Andrea, can you look at me?” Her words were quiet, almost uncertain. They were not a command and Andrea knew she could simply cling to her mate, but she felt that she owed Miranda the courage now to make up for the foolishness of before. When their eyes met, she saw that Miranda had been weeping with her. Slowly, they each leaned into the other, needing the confirmation of their love to be pressed to the others lips. It was a salty confirmation that they were on this emotional precipice together. “No single thing that you did was wrong, Andrea.” Shushing her, when she began to object, Miranda admonished her gently, “Hush now, it’s my turn.” Miranda kissed Andrea’s lips again sharing her care against her lips. “If you are to blame, then I must share it. For nothing I have done has been wrong, but like you I could have done things differently—better.” Scooting closer to Andrea and letting their bodies press against each other Miranda continued. “That outburst of emotion and realization, I need you to remember that feeling.” As Andrea went to speak, Miranda held a finger to her lips and waited. “Not so that you will suffer. You need to understand those feelings of guilt and responsibility that go with being in charge of yourself and others.”  
  
Andrea pulled back enough to look at her with wide eyes.  
  
“What did you tell me your parents fussed with you about the most?” Miranda tried to come at the point she wanted from a slightly different place. “You told me that you would go off somewhere and forget to talk to them and let them know what was going on.” Andrea’s wide brown eyes were blinking at her curious now. “You said you learned to check in with them, right?”  
  
Remembering her parents yelling and then later apologizing, Andrea confirmed Miranda’s recollection. “Yes, it was hard to do at first, but I didn’t want to be in trouble or upset them.”  
  
Miranda kissed Andrea, this time letting her love flow for the younger woman across their connection. When the kiss gentled and then stopped naturally, Miranda shared her thoughts. “Before you joined us, I ran the pack with my captains. It made sense given the business that many of us are in within the human world. I did not share my power equally with my husbands. With James, it never mattered. However, with Stephen, it became an on-going issue. One that nearly had me cast out and definitely fractured my pack. When you first joined us, you knew so little about being a Were and I had just solidified my place as master of the pack once more. It made sense to not give you equal power as my mate within the pack.”  
  
Andrea had been watching her lover with increasing agitation until she finally blurted. “I couldn’t lead this pack!”  
  
Smiling indulgently, Miranda rubbed her nose against Andrea’s. “And you should never have to.” She smirked at her lover’s gasp. “Unfortunately, as you have become more fluent in all things wolf, I should have acknowledged your place in the pack and honored you more. You are my Lady, Andrea, not my kept woman. You have responsibilities to me and to the pack as well in your role, whether you eventually take leadership or not. You are the girls’ other mother, you are my partner and you are the Lady of the pack.”  
  
Andrea inhaled and exhaled as she considered Miranda’s words and their truth. She understood why Miranda had wanted her to remember that horrific feeling of the world crashing down and it being on her shoulders. She had to think beyond herself and always remember to ensure that she came home and the children and others she was with came home. Furthermore, that the best way to do this was to ask for support. “I think I understand.” Andrea sighed as she looked at Miranda.  
  
“To be sure, I think we will have some situational training, like we did with your fighting skills originally.” Miranda felt as if they were going to be okay. She felt lighter and truly reconnected to her lover.  
  
The noises from the other room had been threatening to interfere with their discussion for quite some time. However, at the howling crescendo, those noises finally crashed into their concentration. “Oh God.” Andrea moaned as her desire for Miranda grew within her. “They have no idea the effect they have on the rest of us, do they?”  
  
Chuckling, Miranda hummed and then reached out to caress Andrea’s side. Pleased with the goose bumps rewarding her efforts, Miranda wiggled against Andrea. Her nipples hardened as the curve of her breast slid across Andrea’s hardened nipple. She kissed Andrea with just her lips for many minutes before allowing her tongue to slip out and meet Andrea’s stroking and licking deeper into the kiss. Their legs entwining, Andrea moaned as Miranda’s thigh pressed against the heat of her sex. “What effect could that be?” Miranda asked in the lowest of her ‘I want to fuck you’ voices. Unable to answer in words, Andrea slipped her hand between them until her fingers were soaked and Miranda was calling her name. The brunette found her release as she squeezed her legs around Miranda’s thigh and her mate’s pleasure cascaded through her body.  
  
“I love you.” They each sleepily murmured as they fell asleep, wound up around each other.

 

 

…


	22. The Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the Pack Notes on ‘Caught Moon/NYC’:  
> Jake—pack member, sided with Stephen, questions Andrea at the meeting, has electrical skills perhaps construction  
> Shelby—pack member, arrived with Jake, has a somewhat criminal and technological past

**_Coming Home. Part 22/27._**  
  
Sitting in the van watching the most boring reality TV ever created to torture, Tommy thought that he was going to lose his mind. He was a wolf, not a security officer. Watching the comings and goings of the front door of a nondescript office building on the far edge of Boston was enough for him to bite someone. He didn’t have a day job for a reason. He liked nights and he liked living on the wrong side of the law. Perfectly at home in the underbelly of Boston, he thanked his lucky stars that his pack master didn’t care too much about the letter of the law. “How long do we gotta sit here, man?” He wondered how much trouble he’d really get in, if he jumped out of the van and ran around in circles growling and howling at the stuffed shirts going about their workaday business. It would almost be as much fun as chasing pigeons in Boston Commons when he was a boy.  
  
Sighing he stood and paced the length of the van thumping his colleague on the shoulder as he went back and forth. “You never been in a rumble before, man?” Jake couldn’t help the sarcasm in his voice. He had skirted the edge of the law from time to time, but this kid from Doyle’s pack seemed like a lost puppy wandering around knocking out streetlights and begging someone to make him stop.  
  
Stopping just behind Jake, Tommy rubbed at his ribs wishing he had healed just a little quicker. Maybe he wouldn’t have been stuck in this tin can. “I been in plenty of fights, man.” He bent over to sneer in Jake’s ear as he pulled back the top of the chair.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Jake waited until the kid threw himself down before setting him back to rights. “This ain’t no bar fight where you bust a beer bottle, walk in a circle and then go for each other’s throats.” Shaking his head, he added, “This is more like the army—hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait.” He sought out the kid’s eyes and wondered if it was pain, ‘medication’, or lucky genetics that had this kid so wired. Tommy leaned back sullenly in his chair. “The Facility is this para-military operation that has a corporate front, the inner shell of business where they ‘study’ the supernatural, and their pockets are deep and well spread.” Tommy was rolling his eyes and nodding his head in some kind of agreeable fit. Jake contemplated poking him the ribs.  
  
“Do you even think they have a plan?” Tommy whined. “This is so boring.”  
  
Jake tried to think of how to put it in terms for this guy. “You know that tall brunette, right?” The smile that crossed Tommy’s face made it pretty clear that he wished he ‘knew’ the tall brunette. “Not Lady Andrea.” He practically growled, “The one you seem to avoid.” He smiled as the blood drained from the kid’s face. “She a cop or something?”  
  
Leaning back and swinging his seat from side to side, Tommy looked like he had just had his hand slapped with a ruler at school. Jake knew he had at least distracted him if nothing else. “Detective Rizzoli.” He shook his head as he thought about how she easily overpowered him, put his face to the wall, and cuffed him like tying a puppy to a stake. “She messed up some good business I had going down in the Back Bay, man.” He shook his head at another opportunity shot down the tubes of life.  
  
Jake wished this kid had found a passion, he wasn’t all bad. He couldn’t say that Tommy reminded him of himself, because he didn’t. It was just that Jake had fallen into construction and then found his interest in electricity. He wasn’t sure what his life would have been like if he hadn’t found that love, but he knew it wouldn’t be as good as it was now. He hoped that Tommy would find the criminal version of that to get him through life. “So, she fights crime every day.” Jake started to use the brunette as an explanation point, but Tommy cut him off.  
  
“She fights it, but it just keeps coming back.” He sneered as he thought of his pack leader living under the radar all these years.  
  
Jake held up a finger to indicate that Tommy had a point, “Which is why the police have to go under cover, invent new technology, get savvy on computers, and sometimes wait around like we are now in order to catch the mastermind criminal instead of just his enforcers or pushers.”  
  
Tommy eyed him like he was a rat. “How do I know you’re not just all here to set up the Boss?”  
  
Closing his eyes and clenching one fist before breathing deeply and relaxing, Jake shook his head. “First did you see the alphas together—old friends, man, old friends, I’m telling ya. Maybe not best friends and all chummy, but definitely friends.” He paused then, letting the statement sink in. “Second, these bastards threatened my lady before and almost destroyed the pack this time. We couldn’t care less what side of the law your Boss is on. We’re just glad he’s willing to help.” When Tommy started to object a moment later, Jake held up a hand. “Detective Rizzoli. She was a cop before she became a wolf.” He looked Tommy over from head to toe, “You were probably a criminal in diapers.” He smiled at the boy to take some of the sting out. “So, you were a criminal before you were a wolf too. The way I see it: she’ll keep chasing you, because you’ll keep doing stupid stuff. Wolf don’t make no difference.” Seeing the face from the photos in the monitors, Jake leaned forward pressing the speak button on the fancy equipment, “We have the mark.”  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Watching the silver haired woman pace and listening to the click clack of those shoes was driving Paddy Doyle up a wall. Three days of plotting and waiting and waiting and waiting. The locals had all gone about their daily lives for the most part. Paddy thought of his blood daughter, Maura, and the tenuous peace between the packs and within herself. She had no idea that she was the pebble in the dam that kept Constance and Patrick’s packs away from each other’s throats. He had been honest with her when the time came. It was true that he had to give her up and the story he had told was created from a patchwork of other truths as well. It was also a cold-blooded exchange designed to make him suffer for murdering Constance’s only heir and to take his from him. It was the only way to keep her alive, but he would never forgive himself for the deal he had made.  
  
How she had come to the place in life where she refused pack alliances, Paddy would likely never understand. He thanked whatever twist of fate had kept her safe all those years and he never once questioned it. He simply issued an order to not touch Maura Isles within both his supernatural and his human spheres of influence.  
  
What would she do when this was all over?  
  
She had chosen a mate. There was no denying the connection he had watched grow between the two women over the years. Sighing and leaning back as he tried to ignore Miranda, he thought about the energy that they had radiated upon returning to Boston. It was putting everyone on edge.  
  
Detective Rizzoli came from a big family. A family any wolf could be proud of. She worked as part of a team with her partner Detective Frost and within the department of homicide with that Detective Korsak. She was a good detective, a good woman, and a wonderful partner for Maura. Paddy could recognize potential when he saw it, even if he didn’t appreciate that in her daily life, she was trying to send him to jail. She was the kind of woman used to camaraderie. Paddy thought she’d love to run with his pack in the moonlight and be a part of something. If she joined his pack, Maura would too.  
  
Constance Isles’ cleverly crafted balance would evaporate through no fault of his own.  
  
On the farther side of the room, the door bounced against the wall before it fell shut once more. Riley nodded to Miranda as he made a beeline for his Boss. “They’ve got the mark.” He announced.

 

 

…


	23. Sophie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vocabulary word of the day: diazodinitrophenol (DDNP) = explosive something or other. Yeah, I know more about snow than I know about that. Don’t eat it, children.

**_Coming Home. Part 23/27._**  
  
They had spent all the time that they could on research. As the night fell on the third day it was time for action. There had been some tension with regard to logistics until Miranda had pulled the ‘my people are in there’ card, followed by the ‘we have great knowledge’ card. Miranda had come to Boston looking for McKenna before she even had any hope of her daughters being alive or her lover returned to her. She had lost everything and followed the only straws she could grasp—that McKenna was from Boston, had indicated to Katherine and Samantha that she had heard from a buddy up there. Constance Isles and Patrick Doyle had no idea of her whereabouts, not even when asked vigorously. With the re-emergence of the Facility in the Emily-Denver-Avalanche mess, once again the leads on McKenna pointed toward Boston. This time Miranda wasn’t hoping to pick a fight to her own death against wolves. No, this time her head was high and her eyes sharp. Her opponent was the Facility who had only ever been challenged once.  
  
She had told Maura it was a hydra and this time she intended to turn it upon itself.  
  
Architectural plans had been procured. Surveillance had created a 3-D picture. Supplies had been gathered. The principals had been researched and marks had been chosen. Patrick might have been the consummate conman working backdoor deals at the docks, but Miranda and Constance had navigated much more public and judgmental waters in high society. In addition to that, Miranda had worked the political structure of an entire corporation for going on thirty years.  
  
Shelby was going to work his computer and fiscal damage as he had done last time, but that would not be the end of the fireworks show. Liberation of whoever was in their cages would be a high priority, while building destruction and supply sabotage were given equal measure. Patrick’s people would be handling pyrotechnics, explosives, Molotov cocktails and whatever caught their fancy once the break-in, smash and grab, rescue operation began. Constance’s wolves would be supporting Shelby, Katherine and Samantha’s efforts to booby trap the ventilation systems, as well as control the phone lines, emergency response systems, alarms and cameras.  
  
All they needed was an ‘in.’  
  
‘Sometimes you need to roll the hard six.’ Patrick had patted her shoulder grimly as the team set off.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Rocco closed the fridge. He paused to pull the magnetic bottle opener from the metal door and pop the top. He savored the first cool, refreshing sip of lager then turned to write ‘beer’ on the list. Shaking his head, he looked out the window over the sink. He had not been able to shake the feeling of being followed all evening. Walking to his car, working out at the gym, and even now in his own home he couldn’t shake the creepy feeling that seemed to be crawling up and down his spine. If he was honest with himself, he had first gotten the feeling of being watched that first day he had set foot into that building. He ducked his head trying to see the gate through all the plants he had in the garden. He could only see darkness, but that did not reassure him. Usually he only felt that watched feeling at work—up and down the many halls with their cameras and secure access areas and deep within those cells and their inhabitants. Normally by the time he had hit the gym, made his way home, showered, and had his first beer he felt better. For three days now, he had this ominous feeling.  
  
Letting the thin curtain fall back over the window, he took a long pull from his beer.  
  
His life had gone from crazy to hell in a hand basket in the last year and he really wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing anymore. It was eating him up inside, but then any other path would have destroyed him as well.  
  
Sighing, Rocco made his way to the make shift workshop in the back bedroom. The diazodinitrophenol was ready and he could put his plan in motion by the end of the week. Those bastards that had taken his Sophie from him would pay. Finishing his beer, he set it on the shelf by the door. Pulling his kerchief from his back pocket, Rocco wiped the sweat from his brow. If he didn’t die in the preparation, then he’d take care of it when he took care of them.  
  
The knock on his door was insistent. Rocco tried to still his heart as he carefully set down the implements. It would really be shame to blow up the small green cottage that Sophie had loved so well. Once he reached the hallway he bellowed, “I’m coming so stop that banging.”  
  
He could not believe that they had heard him, but the banging stopped. Looking through the peephole, he grimaced. What were strangers, well dressed strangers doing at his house well after nightfall? They looked harmless enough, but he didn’t want to take any chances. The words, ‘go away’ were on the tip of his tongue.  
  
“Mr. Merman.” The dark-haired female was speaking. “We want to talk to you about Sophie and the people who took her from you.”  
  
Rocco’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t heard her name in so long. He had no connection to her and here someone was knocking on his door step in the middle of the night offering, well, he wasn’t sure what. He couldn’t pull the chain back or flip the deadbolt fast enough. “Who are you?” He questioned as his eyes took in the tall brunette woman in a power suit and the man who could be her brother in the nice but more casual button-down shirt and well-worn jeans. Rocco wiped his brow with his kerchief again.  
  
“I’m Andrea.” The female introduced herself with the sound of the Midwest on her voice and the pleasant smile of summers on the farm. Motioning to her companion she added, “This is Rick.” As they all nodded for an awkward moment, Andrea considered her next words carefully. They needed to get in, before anything else could be established. “This is a sensitive issue, Mr. Merman. Would you mind if we came inside?”  
  
The little green and yellow cottage was just as cozy on the inside as it looked from the outside. Rocco motioned for them to sit on the couch while he settled into his chair. “You know Sophie?” He asked as he eyed them uncertainly.  
  
Flipping out her Facility Research ID from her jacket, Andrea answered, “In a manner of speaking, yes.” Rick followed her lead, pulling his badge from the front pocket of his button down.  
  
Rocco was up in an instant, knocking the chair back slightly as he moved. “Get the fuck out of here!” He roared.  
  
Letting her ID make a click as the plastic hit the table, Andrea calmly looked up into his eyes. “Look at those IDs again, Mr. Merman.” She nodded at Rick to set his on the table as well. “Do you notice anything unusual about them?”  
  
When the two intruders on his couch held perfectly still, but didn’t waver in their gaze upon him, Rocco felt something in his gut that felt a lot like wanting to hang on to that hope he opened the door with and believe he could trust these people. He bent partway, only taking his eyes off the woman to snatch up the ID cards and stand again. Wiping his brow, he returned the kerchief to his back pocket. He looked at the woman’s ID and then the man’s ID. He would swear that they were real IDs. Shaking his head, he asked, “Where did you get these?” His black eyes glanced at the man but stayed on the woman.  
  
“I believe you can see that they say New York on them, Mr. Merman.” Her voice was patient, polite, but he could tell there was an edge of impatience just under the surface.  
  
Throwing them back onto the coffee table, he stepped around and behind the chair he had been sitting in. “There’s no Facility in New York. I would know.” He thrust his thumb at his chest to indicate that he was the expert.  
  
Smiling the woman agreed with him, “No, no, you’re right. There’s no Facility in New York, now.” She waited until she could see he was interested in more. “You’ve only been Facilities Manager here in Boston for three months, is that right?” When he nodded, she echoed the gesture putting him at ease. “Two years ago, the Facility in New York was forcibly shut down.”  
  
Leaning forward to pick up his ID card from the table, Rick frowned at it. “We’re here to tell you how we took those bastards down.” Slipping the ID in his pocket, Rick smiled at the man. “Any interest in that?”  
  
Scooping up her ID as well, Andrea sniffed the air and then fixed Mr. Merman with a hard look. “Or were you just gonna blow yourself up with that DDNP, that you’ve got there in the back?”  
  
Rocco came back around his chair on unsteady legs until he landed in the chair the air coming out of him as surely as it was the rather loud cushion. His eyes were wide as he looked and looked at the strangers in his living room and thought about how they could possibly know what he had ‘in the back’ or what he planned to do.  
  
Knowing they had him hook, line and sinker, Rick laughed. “It has a unique smell, Mr. Merman.” With a wink he added, “Can I call you, Rocco?”

 

 

…


	24. What is she doing?

**_Coming Home. Part 24/27._**  
  
Tears filled Andrea’s eyes and then slid silently down her cheeks as Rocco told them about Sophie. They had convinced him that she was sick and that they were taking her into treatment. He thought they’d kill him, but then the house was just empty. He had seen one of them by chance at a ball game. In the crowd, he had been able to follow him. He knew it wasn’t right, but he had stalked the man enough to figure out which business he worked for. From there it was a matter of some fake documents and he had been hired in for a lower level Facilities position. He actually had the experience—he just didn’t want them to figure out who he was. It didn’t take long for him to be promoted and to find out what was going on the more restricted areas. He mentioned seeing all sorts of creatures, though he never found out what made Sophie special.  
  
Andrea offered him sympathy and then through her earpiece she had proceeded to pump him for information regarding the Facilities operations here in Boston. Eventually Rick had gone out to get the laptop so they could go over schematics. Rocco knew all of the offices by heart and could tell you what snacks they had in their desks. After seeing their technology and knowing that they had a large squad to support them, Rocco had been embarrassed of his homemade bombs. In return for his help, they offered to help take those off his hands so that he wouldn’t have to worry about going to jail for them later.  
  
At first light Rocco let Rick, Andrea, Shelby, Jake, Connor, Riley, Katherine and Samantha in with him. With his old ID to use in a pinch, Rick dressed like he was going to work. He led Shelby and Jake around as they copied hard drives, wiped information, and wreaked technological hell from the center of the building out. Katherine and Samantha, dressed as repair techs, began setting up what they needed for the ventilation, emergency, and alarm systems. Connor and Riley were painting explosive patches at key junctions and then throwing around some of Rocco’s homegrown explosives along with some from their usual suppliers. If there was time, they would take out the elevators and stairwells. Doc Martens and Lab Coat, Andrea definitely felt that she was being watched as she made her way to the area determined to be Arrivals and Specimens. With her old ID and Rocco’s access card she was able to swipe her way to the very center of the scientific center.  
  
Fifteen minutes in they had all frozen as Katherine and Samantha had to take out a guard. For many moments they each held their breath and called for information from Tommy and Constance’s people handling surveillance. Each area secured one by one, all of the groups reported job done and were given the approval to retreat.  
  
Once they were outside with Rocco, Katherine and Samantha were near hysterics on the wire as they reported Andrea had not returned. For many tense moments, Tommy yelled at the others to find her on screen and the others tried to remember Andrea calling ‘all clear’ or ‘crisis.’  
  
“She’s down in the parking garage!” Tommy had relayed after too many long moments. “What the hell is she doing?”  
  
Katherine and Samantha took off at a run toward the gated entrance to the parking garage.  
  
The chatter was unbearable as voices were calling out over each other in a panic and giving play by play commentary from the security screens. Andrea was limping. She was in a fight. There were three of them. She had a wolf with her, but she was practically dragging it. Just as Rick started dragging Rocco toward the underground parking bay, Miranda hissed for silence on the line.  
  
Everyone sucked in the breath they were taking and held it. There was no denying the heart rending pain in her voice as she too waited for information and proof of life for her chosen Lady, her mate.  
  
Fighting with the gate, Katherine and Samantha heard the honking before they looked up into the fast-coming headlights of a transport van. Locking eyes with Andrea, they widened their eyes in shock and stepped away from the gate. Watching her arm waving at them and taking in the speed of her approach they came running out of the lower bay area screaming as they ran into Rick and Rocco. “She’s coming!” They indicated as they dragged the men to the side. They hit and rolled as the cargo van crashed through the gate breaking glass, crunching metal, and making an ear-piercing rending sound as it bent up begrudgingly allowing the van to exit.  
  
Over the line, Andrea’s crazed voice let everyone breathe a little easier. “I’m heading back with McKenna and three others. The other cells were empty!”  
  
Rick rolled on his back watching the van careening out onto the streets of Boston. He smiled at Rocco giving him a thumbs-up. Touching his ear to call in he said, “Everyone is away. Begin step 5. Repeat begin step 5.” As Katherine rolled over to Samantha kissing her in an adrenalin-filled embrace, Rocco’s mouth dropped. Hitting him in the shoulder, Rick offered him a hand to stand. “Ride home?” He chuckled as Rocco had a hard time focusing on him instead of the girls. “Watch out, buddy. They fight for a living.” Shaking his head, he pulled Rocco to join the group and get out of there. He knew the girls wouldn’t be far behind them.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Miranda sank heavily into the chair inside the ad hoc communications post. Watching Andrea’s progress on the screens and listening in to the chatter had been overwhelming. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she had not even gone out to do battle. She had ripped the fabric of the chair as she sunk her nails into it. Constance’s young wolf, Liam, had turned wide hazel eyes up at her only to shrink back down in his seat and steadily track the situation. Miranda assumed that the wolf in her eyes would have been quite fearsome to one so green. Seeing McKenna’s wolf emaciated and limping had nearly turned her stomach. Even through it all she had been thankful to have seen her mate’s progress instead of just hearing it.  
  
Reaching out with her foot, Miranda kicked the chair of the wolf she had been hovering over. When those hazel eyes widened in fear at her once more, Miranda quietly said, “Have Constance call my captain, Nigel. Tell her we’ve recovered McKenna.” She held eye contact with the young Liam until he gulped and nodded. Then she leaned back into the wobbly chair and breathed deeply for many minutes.  
  
When she could stand again without shaking, Miranda tapped Tommy on the shoulder. He hugged her out of instinct and then pulled away quiet, embarrassed. “I’m so happy she got out all right.” He said as the blush threatened to jump off his face and enflame the building.  
  
Her joy was so overwhelming that she could not have stopped the true smile that spread across her face in response to his words and sympathetic joy. “Please call Maura and Jane, have them bring the girls.”  
  
He nodded even as he was reaching for his cell phone. He didn’t have the number he needed, but he had no doubt that the Boss could take care of that for him. Tommy watched as the others gathered around the monitors once more, this time tracking as a series of explosions began imploding the building from the inside out. As each security monitor turned to grey static, they high fived and spoke into their earpieces. Slipping his ear piece back in, he listened to the chatter as the surveillance group relayed what they saw, and the technology group related their progress as they were able to hack accounts scattered across the globe and liquidate them. He found himself looking forward to everyone arriving at the warehouse, even that stupid Jake he had been cooped up with for three days. It wasn’t the same as busting a bottle against the wall and going for someone’s throat in a brawl, but he could not deny the feeling of being part of something bigger—and liking it.

 

 

…


	25. Disbelief

**_Coming Home. Part 25/27._**  
  
Frost could not resist the wolf whistle once Jane’s phone started playing ‘The Funeral March’ once again. It wasn’t so much that he was laughing at the ring tone, or even that it was Maura calling her (again). No, he couldn’t hold back the wolf whistle because after seven days (with one Dr. Isles) Jane had come back glowing. Even that was really only endearing as he and Korsak talked behind their backs all week about the ‘happy couple’. What really caught Frost’s funny bone was that after a week and a half Jane could still not stop blushing.  
  
He was happy for her. Hell, it had been obvious to everyone except them for an incredibly long time that they were a couple. He had been shocked when he found out that they weren’t actually. There was no doubt that something had changed on that vacation, because up until then she had never blushed so much in her entire life.  
  
Coming back from around the corner, Jane tried to school her features. “Hey, I gotta go.” She ran her hand through her hair and fidgeted. She looked all around the room except at Korsak and Frost. “Um, I’ll see you guys tomorrow?” She nodded to herself and then grabbed her badge, gun, and jacket before backing away and then turning on her heel to hightail it out of there.  
  
Frost turned to Korsak. “Girl’s got it bad.” He laughed and waved his hand toward the hallway.  
  
Korsak nodded playfully and then pointed at Frost. “Hey, call the morgue. Confirm the theory.”  
  
They just laughed as Frost hung up and stage whispered. “Voice mail.” Independently they each hoped that they wouldn’t get called out to a case, so that they could let Jane stay in her bubble of happiness for a while longer.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Warmth, softness—they were the first things she noticed as her brain began to process stimuli once more. Her throat was dry, her muscles felt beaten and her eyes felt sealed shut. Inhaling deeply, she pondered why she was still in pain, if she had died and gone to a nice, warm, fluffy, soft cloud in heaven. There was also the conspicuous absence of harp music, for which she was thankful. However, she would have traded the lack of harps for a long tall glass of water. She felt a hand on her forehead and smiled as she was touched by an angel. Maybe it would bring her a drink.  
  
‘Bad angel!’ She groaned as a finger gouged her eye and then pulled her eyelid up. Pawing at the solid arm, McKenna growled and coughed and rolled away from what must have been a demon instead.  
  
Hearing voices behind her, McKenna reached out and felt around her. She found the edge of the bed and then with a few more pats she found the wall. ‘Must be in hell.’ She thought as she wiped at her eyes to clear them of gunk and then blinked a few times. It didn’t look like the wall of her cage, but that didn’t mean those assholes hadn’t just changed her location to mess with her. There was no level she thought they wouldn’t sink to. Clenching her fist, she told herself to stay still, to face the wall, and to continue to resist.  
  
“McKenna.”  
  
How they could have her voice, McKenna did not want to know. It meant that the worst of her nightmares since being taken had come true—the Pack had fallen. Her body stiffened, but she refused to roll over and give those goons her belly again. They may have caught her unaware that first time, but she would not relax into any of their traps now.  
  
“McKenna, you were taken by the Facility three and a half weeks ago.” Her alpha’s voice was truly heartbreaking and McKenna felt the urge to cry though there was no moisture in her body left to do so. Footsteps came closer and then the edge of the bed dipped behind her legs. “I can only imagine what they have done to you.” The voice held a tone of past anguish and current sympathy. It was so tempting to McKenna to turn and find the face of her master come to rescue her and to share her pain. “I only know what they did to me.” McKenna sucked in a breath of hot air burning down her throat to her lungs. Miranda rarely talked about what had happened during her imprisonment with the Facility. She only had ever shared enough to help them prepare and to keep them vigilant in their training. The bed shifted as the figure stood and stepped away. “McKenna, this is not a dream. Andrea and a few others went into the Facility this morning and pulled you and a few others out. I need you to remember, McKenna. I need you to get better.”  
  
Something was set down on the ground. McKenna didn’t dare hope that it was anything good.  
  
The steps continued out to the doorway where the voices were still low in the background. “Serena is on her way with Nigel. You need to be as aware as you were in the fight this morning with Andrea.” The figure turned and the voice was lower, “Check on her again in an hour. See if she’ll hydrate.” Murmurs greeted that and then most of the noise was cut off.  
  
McKenna lay there with her heart somersaulting in her chest. Never had they mentioned Serena. Never had they used Miranda’s voice. Never had they asked her to remember Andrea and fighting and escaping. McKenna did not move for many moments as she listened for any tell-tale noises or signs that it was a trick. Eventually, she lay on her back not daring to look at the room. At length she opened her eyes to find that she was in some kind of back office with a bed. It reminded her of crash rooms some of her associates had at various places of operations, just in case rest was needed. There was nothing exciting about the décor, but it was clearly not her cell at the Facility. The door was only partially closed which relieved McKenna even more. Checking herself and the bed, she found no restraints. She realized that if this were a dirty trick then it would be all the more awful because of just how promising it seemed to be.  
  
Then her eyes landed on the large pink Gatorade bottle: her favorite flavor and the liquid that she absolutely was craving. McKenna reached out for it though she knew it would be out of reach. She scooted on the bed groaning against the aches and pains in her body. Pushing her toe against the wall, McKenna knows the moment she has gone too far, but except for that heart stopping moment of knowledge, she could do nothing about it. With a crash she fell to the floor, her elbow and then shoulder taking the brunt of the pressure as she willed her body to go ahead and slither to the ground. Curling her body up into a sitting position, McKenna made sure to grab the bottle of liquid, before she scooted back and leaned against the bed.  
  
Breathing hard, McKenna encountered a problem that she had not mentally prepared for—twisting off the lid.  
  
“Sleeping beauty is finally up.” McKenna had never seen such a beautiful person in her entire life, even if this beautiful vision was taunting her in a sing song.  
  
Wiping her tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, McKenna just held out the pink liquid hoping for mercy.  
  
In two steps, Andrea was close enough to pull the bottle out of McKenna’s hands. Opening the bottle, she handed it back to her mentor. Looking around the room, the brunette opted to join McKenna on the floor. “You remember anything yet? Or you still think they are torturing you?” Gulping down the liquid, McKenna only stopped when Andrea’s hand rested on her forearm. “Hey, you’re gonna get sick if you do that.” With a squeeze she let go of McKenna’s arm and added, “How many times have you told me that, eh?”  
  
Holding her favorite flavor out towards Andrea, McKenna gave a half-hearted smile, “Now I know I’m dreaming.”  
  
For a few moments they sat in companionable silence as McKenna continued to sip her beverage. Quietly they regarded each other taking in signs of fatigue, emotional health and physical injuries. McKenna didn’t even want to know what she looked like. She knew how she felt which was bad enough. Andrea had some butterfly bandages over her eyebrow and the skin was beginning to swell and bruise. Her upper lip was split and it looked like it would bleed every time she talked for a few days. “You got me out.”  
  
It wasn’t a question, though Andrea made sure to look her in the eye as she responded. “I was with you on that final fight when we left in the van. You fought beside me and I couldn’t have gotten in there without a lot of help.”  
  
Setting the plastic bottle on the floor beside her, McKenna turned and faced the brunette. “You were by yourself.” Her eyes traced over Andrea’s trying to discern the parts that she had forgotten or that had been left out.  
  
Swallowing and ducking her head were sure signs that Andrea knew she had screwed up something. McKenna had seen it often enough when Andrea had first joined the pack. “I was supposed to see if anyone was in the cage area.” Andrea watched her own fingers tracing the laces on her Doc Martens. “When I saw you.” Andrea shrugged. “Something snapped within me and I couldn’t just leave you there.” McKenna started to ask about that, but then Andrea continued. “We were supposed to set everything up, get a visual, and then get out. We were not supposed to linger or engage if at all possible.” Looking into McKenna’s wide eyes, she explained. “Once Katherine and Samantha fought those guards and I saw the condition you were in…” She inhaled a breath as she thought about that moment. “I didn’t think we’d get a second chance. I couldn’t just leave you there.”  
  
McKenna pulled her Gatorade back to her and drank a long drink. “Are the girls alright?”  
  
Andrea wrinkled her brow at the other woman and assured her, “Yeah, they’re fine. They were staying with Jane’s mother today. They can’t wait to get back to New York.”  
  
Shifting her body, McKenna set the bottle between her legs and looked at Andrea. “The twins? Uh, I meant Katherine and Samantha? Back to New York? What’s going on Andy?”  
  
As the questions tumbled out of McKenna’s mouth, Andrea realized that McKenna had gone missing before any of the drama of the past month had started. “Oh man,” she said as she levered herself up to a standing position. “Come on up here, you’re not gonna want to stay on the floor for all of this.” Andrea helped McKenna back into the bed. “You’re not going anywhere so there’s plenty of time while we wait for Serena to tell you the story.” At McKenna’s look, Andrea smiled, “I think that was the first call Miranda made after the mission.” Patting the blonde’s knee, the brunette turned and reached down for the Gatorade handing it back to her. “Let’s start with today’s story and work our way backwards, okay?” At McKenna’s accepting nod, Andrea stepped away. “First, Katherine and Samantha want to see you for themselves and Miranda will be glad to know you’re not attacking your caretakers anymore.” With that Andrea slipped out the door. Low voices were promptly overwhelmed by whoops of joy and two wolves came running into the room like banshees. McKenna could not have dreamed of a better rescue as she was overwhelmed by her associates.

 

 

…


	26. Will You Guard the Right of Santuary?

**_Coming Home. Part 26/27._**  
  
It wasn’t the same as the backyard between Miranda and Holly’s townhouses, but the after-mission atmosphere of the warehouse felt just about the same. The human news had whipped itself into a feeding frenzy over the exploded building and the overwhelming amount of questions about just what kind of business had been running out of the premises. The evidence they were collecting throughout the day as they checked public records was quite simply creating more questions than it was answering. The Facility and its shell corporation in Boston had now been forced out into public scrutiny and the wolves couldn’t stop celebrating.  
  
Constance’s wolves working with Shelby reported being able to gather enough information to go after some of the deeper and more hidden connections and financial pockets of the Facility so that it would not be able to grow another head.  
  
With some food and even more pink Gatorade, McKenna was recovering although her emotions were still in a state of flux. Eventually Katherine, Samantha, and McKenna curled up in the back room in wolf form to take comfort in each other. McKenna felt that she was the catalyst for the rollercoaster of disaster that became the tragedy of the twins’ danger and Emily’s sacrifice. Andrea was confident that McKenna would be okay in time, but she knew that they would all feel Emily’s loss in ways that they didn’t even recognize now.  
  
In a break room fitted out with a tattered couch and some chairs, Miranda basked in the glow of her family while getting to know Jane and Maura better. The full moon wasn’t for another three and a half weeks, but the pack would be going up to Bear Mountain for the weekend. “It would be a good opportunity for you to practice shifting.” Miranda offered to Jane as incentive to join them.  
  
“Running in the moonlight is great even if it isn’t the full moon.” Andrea was beaming as she remembered her first runs through the forest. “You know how your senses are heightened.” She scooted forward on the couch’s edge and Miranda’s hand slipped to her lower back. “You smell all the animals and the pine needles. The water feels different under your paws and your coat gets wet. It’s amazing.”  
  
Jane couldn’t help but return the infectious grin. She wasn’t sure how it would work out with work, but she knew she wanted to go out with Miranda’s family as soon as she could. The weekend might be a bit of a push given how much teasing she had gotten from Frost and Korsak. “We’ll have to see about the weekend.” She looked at Maura who nodded. “Not sure if I can get away again so soon.”  
  
Leaning forward with a gleam in her eye, Maura asked Miranda, “Could we come up for the full moon?” She smiled over at Jane and then turned back to Miranda. “She got kinda ripped off, you know.” Miranda and Andrea shared a knowing look as they remembered their first full moon run together out in the wilds.  
  
Miranda had just opened her mouth to agree when there was a commotion on the far side of the room. Sensing trouble, Miranda was on her feet in an instant. The wolf she immediately recognized as Riley had that big-eyed technology wolf of Constance’s by the throat. Liam, her mind supplied the name. They had shifted and their clothes were piles of ripped fabric on the floor. Patrick had his hand on Constance’s shirtfront and his other hand pulled back ready to swing. For her part Constance had a look in her eye that dared him to do it.  
  
Pointing toward the twins and the door to McKenna’s room, Miranda signaled for Andrea to see them to safety. Hopping up, Andrea ushered the twins over and spoke to the already shifted wolves in the room. Maura and Jane stood, sensing the tension in the air as Miranda crossed straight down the middle of the room. Constance’s wolves were rounding on Patrick’s wolves ready to follow their leader into a much more hands on battle. With Samantha and Katherine guarding the twins, Andrea joined Maura and Jane as they watched the unfolding standoff. Looking around the room, Andrea leaned into Maura’s ear whispering, “You’re the only wolves here without a pack. Please hold Jane back from whatever this is.”  
  
Maura’s eyes darkened as she looked at Andrea and reached for Jane’s hand.  
  
“What is the meaning of this?” Miranda’s tone was low and filled with an authority that nearly everyone in the room felt themselves instinctively reacting to. Reaching down when she was close enough, Miranda rested her hand on Connor’s neck. She did not pull him from the wide-eyed wolf that had been monitoring Andrea’s progress earlier in the morning, however it was clear that she could. “You will release her now.” The words were spoken with commanding elocution and the promise of trouble if they were not followed. Around the room, the wolves of Miranda’s pack unobtrusively readied themselves making eye contact with each other and nodding at the wolves from the other two packs.  
  
Connor released the other wolf, yet remained close, agitated and in wolf form. Liam looked up at Miranda in just the same way as he had that morning. Then his eyes flickered over to Constance.  
  
Stepping between the two omegas, Miranda reached Patrick and Constance. “Now, what is this about?”  
  
Constance didn’t bother to hide her disgust as she huffed and stepped back from Patrick. “He is claiming Jane.” She smoothed her shirt back down and glared at him.  
  
Relaxing his stance, but still clearly ready for a fight, Patrick kept his eyes on Constance as he replied, “She needs a pack.”  
  
Inclining her head to the side, Constance sneered, “She will choose a pack.”  
  
Growling, Patrick lunged for her again, “She won’t choose yours.”  
  
Miranda snapped the fingers on her right hand as she lunged for Patrick at Constance’s throat. Andrea bounded forward pulling Constance away with an arm around her stomach. All around the room, the packs faced off, not against each other, but against their guests. Shelby and Jake easily had Constance’s three other wolves pressed against the wall. Rick had punched Connor’s wolf in the ribs sending him to the ground wheezing. Turning to help his mate, Rick copied Tabitha’s move of pulling an arm around the back as they controlled Tommy and Riley.  
  
“You made a deal over 40 years ago, Patrick.” Miranda had pressed him up against a post in the middle of the room while Samantha and Katherine in wolf form had stalked forward. It was clear who the alpha of this room was by sheer numbers and outright better training. “You can’t take back your deal now.” Miranda hissed into his face. Pointing back to where Constance was struggling with Andrea, she outlined. “You killed her son and she took your daughter.” She paused as the words sank in. His pupils were so dilated that it was hard to tell if he could understand the words, but he stopped pushing against her. Within moments Miranda could hear that Constance and every other wolf had stopped their struggling and now waited on baited breath. “It’s done, Patrick. You cannot force Jane to join your pack because you want to see if Maura will come with her.”  
  
Patrick heaved a breath and then he dared to defy Miranda once more. “She has to have a pack to guide her, keep her in line.”  
  
Stepping down the middle of the room, Jane approached. “I’m a cop and you’re a criminal. I’d never join your pack.” When Constance let out an amused chortle, the tall brunette rounded on her. “I didn’t choose you either.” Jane’s eyebrow high on her forehead, she looked around the room. “I don’t want either of you.” Her eyes landed on Maura at that point and Jane walked back to her mate. “I choose Maura. She doesn’t have a pack.”  
  
At this there was a renewed round of teeth gnashing from Patrick and Constance.  
  
Miranda laughed in Patrick’s face. “Your deal for peace holds true even now.” She patted him on the cheek and stepped away. Motioning for Andrea to let go of Constance, Miranda looked around the room letting all present know who was in charge. She let the room’s silence speak for itself before snapping her fingers again. Miranda’s wolves released those they had subdued and stood at attention around the room. Katherine and Samantha padded back to the open doorway and sat down as McKenna leaned against the doorframe in her human form.  
  
Looking back toward the wolves in question Miranda tilted her head before addressing everyone. “Maura Isles chose Sanctuary and stayed out of wolf business from the earliest possible age.” Miranda smiled warmly at the adopted daughter of her friend and birth daughter of her long-time associate. “She is untouchable in Pack conflict and her home is a place of Sanctuary for all wolves.” Miranda turned in a slow circle as she regarded everyone in the room. “Jane was already Maura’s guardian as they were drawn together by a force Jane did not even know existed.” Her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled at Jane. “She has rejected both of your packs. It is fitting that she continues in her role as guardian now that her second nature has been revealed.” In response to the shocked gasps in the room, Miranda added, “She will submit to the same rules of conduct regarding wolf conflicts that Maura does.”  
  
Miranda waited for many moments while the others weighed their words, considered their options and looked to their alphas for guidance. Jane and Maura held hands growing increasingly uncomfortable with the extended pause. “Does anyone here question my authority?”  
  
Again the silence ticked by, this time filled with the understanding that Miranda was the alpha of all of them, unless they stood up to her now—and won in a fight. Jane looked to Maura as she sensed the increased tension, but Maura just shook her head and pulled Jane closer. Now was not the time to explain.  
  
Motioning for them to approach, Miranda called on her, “Jane Rizzoli, will you guard the right and place of Sanctuary as represented by Maura Isles? In doing so you agree to stay out of Wolf Pack business and grant shelter to any wolf seeking Sanctuary?”  
  
At Maura’s encouraging nod, Jane faced Miranda and looked into her blue eyes. “Yes, I do.”  
  
Hearing voices outside the door including Nigel’s, Miranda smiled at the others. “I think that we should all call it an evening.” Miranda motioned to everyone. “Gather your things and do not break the fragile peace between your packs tonight.” With her command, everyone seemed to snap out of their stupor and began to get their stuff. “There you are.” Miranda said as she greeted the new arrivals. Sharing a hug with each of them, she motioned for Serena to head towards the back to find McKenna. “You missed all the fun.” She teasingly whispered into Nigel’s ear as she tucked her arm into Andrea’s elbow.  
  
Jane turned to Maura as she took in the new faces and did a head count. “Maura, where are we gonna put all these people?”  
  
Seeing her lover’s eyes going wide, Maura resisted the urge to tease that they were all going to curl up in wolf form in her living room. It was tempting, but she knew that Jane had already been processing a lot of information before this evening’s showdown. “Remember Rick and Tabitha got hotel rooms?” She rubbed up and down Jane’s arm as she led her lover back out to the car.

 

 

…


	27. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed this story :) Take care and happy reading out there! I'm almost done with transfers. There's the notes for this fic and when I finish writing Merunoh, then I'll transfer what was already posted and post the rest together.
> 
> x

**_Coming Home. Part 27/27._**  
  
“We have the house to ourselves.” Jane murmured into Maura’s hair as she locked the door. Humming in response, Maura hung up her coat and made her way into the kitchen where she dumped her keys and purse. Jane followed her throwing her jacket over the edge of the chair, slipping her badge in the pocket, and then stashing her service weapon in the cupboard over the fridge. When Jane turned to find Maura’s eyes wide and contemplating her, she couldn’t help but ask, “What?”  
  
Maura stepped close and took Jane’s hand in hers. “I liked what you did for me tonight, Jane.”  
  
Cupping Maura’s face with her palm, Jane allowed herself to explore all the details of the woman and the wolf that she loved. Tracing her thumb over Maura’s lips, Jane’s mouth curled up in a huge smile. “It was for me, too, you know.” Jane leaned down and gave Maura a quick peck on the lips. “I couldn’t let those two separate us.”  
  
“Oh, Jane.” Maura’s voice held an urgency that had not been there since their first night together. Her fingers curled into fists as she pulled Jane against her.  
  
Off balance, Jane stumbled forward, holding onto Maura. The smaller woman’s wildness and hunger poured out of her through the kiss leaving Jane breathless. Maura gasped as her back hit the counter, but she did not release her hold on Jane’s shirt. Breaking the kiss, Jane reached down pulling Maura’s legs up around her waist and then settling her on the countertop. Maura pulled Jane’s shirt over her head despite the buttons while Jane reached for her tucked in blouse. Stuck inside her shirt, Jane altered her course to rip the shirt off her head. “I will always choose you, Maura.” Leaning forward Jane moaned against Maura’s lips as she wrapped her thighs around her waist. “I’ve always chosen you.” Jane said as she fumbled for the front of Maura’s blouse and the delicate buttons.  
  
Her chest heaving, Maura bucked her hips against Jane’s abdomen wanting to feel more of her. “Oh, Jane. I chose you. I would have had to follow you.” Maura moaned as Jane gave up unbuttoning and just ripped her blouse open.  
  
“Maura, Maura.” Jane’s voice was rough with need and muffled against the heated skin of her lover, but her meaning was perfectly clear. “I love you, Maura.” Jane bent her body to bite and suck on Maura’s neck and then down her chest. Maura nearly drew blood as she clawed the straps of Jane’s bra down her shoulders.  
  
“Jane. I love you, Jane.” Maura was panting her words as Jane kissed down her body and placed her hands on Maura’s thighs to spread her out. Hitting the ground, Jane smiled as she looked up at the thoroughly disheveled look of the usually quite put together Maura Isles. She kissed the inside of one thigh as her fingers teased the skirt up higher and higher. With both hands under her ass, Jane pulled Maura to the edge of the counter until she could taste the wet heat of her arousal. Jane licked and nibbled feasting on the love created between them as Maura’s fingers curled in her hair and her body writhed above her. Jane thought she might suffocate as Maura’s legs closed around her head in climax, but she could still hear Maura screaming her name.  
  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Hanging the card on the door, Serena hoped that her lover was feeling as good as she was acting. After nearly a month being held by those bastards, Serena just hoped that McKenna had found a way to hang on to the core of herself while inside. She knew that the additional loss of Emily probably hadn’t hit yet, but it would bother her lover. The two had been close, but Serena had never realized how close. She wasn’t sure what that meant for them now. “I grabbed some of your clothes.” She called out to McKenna in a low voice as she set the backpack down on the table.  
  
McKenna hollered her thanks from inside the bathroom. In a moment she was there staring at Serena. “They were going to drown me in Gatorade.” Her mouth curled up in amusement but fell again when Serena did not laugh at her joke. “Hey, are you alright?” McKenna took Serena by the hand and led her to sit beside her on the bed.  
  
“I’m so glad you’re all right, McKenna.” Serena whispered.  
  
With tender fingertips, McKenna lifted Serena’s chin until she was looking blue eyes into blue eyes. “You got me through it, you know.” McKenna pressed her lips against Serena’s confirming her words with her loving touch. Pulling back McKenna saw the surprise in her eyes and she scooted more onto the bed, encouraging Serena to join her. “I thought of you every single day.” She took Serena’s hand in hers to run her thumb across the soft skin on the back of her hand and then turn it over to trace the lines. “I knew if I could survive long enough that they would come for me and I knew that you would be there waiting for me.”  
  
Serena’s eyes filled with tears as she cupped McKenna’s face between both of her hands. “But I’m nothing.” She sobbed shaking her head as she sought out McKenna’s eyes and then looked away again.  
  
Taking both of Serena’s hands in her own, McKenna pulled her to her in a fierce hug. Her body complained but the woman she loved was hurting so she ignored it. “You are Serena.” McKenna reached down to pull Serena’s shirt from her jeans. She let her hands rest warm against her lover’s cold skin. “You are my mate.” She pulled the shirt over Serena’s head and then reached for her own. “I love you.” She reached for the buttons on Serena’s jeans pulling open the button fly with a skilled flick of her wrist. Wrapping one arm around Serena, McKenna kissed her as their breasts pressed together. With her free hand, McKenna pulled down the zipper of her pants and undid the button from the inside.  
  
Looking into Serena’s eyes once more, McKenna raised an eyebrow asking her to respond. “Oh, McKenna, I love you so much. Baby, I’m so glad you’re back.” Serena threw her arms around McKenna and pulled her so that they fell side by side. Serena rolled them so that she could make short work of her jeans. Barely even kicking them away, Serena gasped as she felt McKenna’s fingers playing in her wet folds. Grunting, Serena pulled McKenna’s trousers down just enough to slip her hand inside.  
  
Fingers thrusting against each other’s sexes, palms pressing teasingly against clits, and tongues tangling together, they writhed on the bed until completion overtook them with a roar.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Tuckered out from a long and intense day with Angela Rizzoli followed by an evening of angsty wolves, the twins had never been so glad to be tucked into bed on a sleeper sofa in a hotel room. The TV had a marathon of the Pirates of the Caribbean and they had each other. Just behind the door their moms were ready to protect them. Life couldn’t get too much better than that.  
  
*** *** ***  
  
Clothes discarded beside the bed, Miranda and Andrea met in tangle of limbs. Miranda sighed as she settled against the pillows and smooth softness of the sheets. Kissing briefly, Andrea rested her cheek against Miranda’s chest. Her heart beating strong was a signal that all was right in the world. “I love you.” The younger woman murmured against Miranda’s skin.  
  
Miranda stroked her fingers through Andrea’s hair. The words warmed her heart in a way that she hoped never lost its luster. “And I you.” Miranda let her words rumble in her chest, knowing that it thrilled Andrea.  
  
“I’m so glad that we are going home tomorrow.” Though she was tired, Andrea couldn’t stop her hand stroking Miranda’s side. She knew she would never get enough of this woman.  
  
Kissing the top of Andrea’s head, Miranda hummed her agreement. For many moments they just enjoyed the gentle press of their bodies against one another and the simple pleasure of continuing life together. “I’m coming home with my daughters, my mate, and most of my pack.” She squeezed the other woman close to her. “When I left, I had not intended to come home.” Miranda admitted into the dark brown hair.  
  
Andrea tensed against her and Miranda drew her up into a kiss. Lips only at first, until Andrea whimpered against her and Miranda deepened the kiss. Reaching down Miranda encouraged her lover to lift a leg over her hip. When Miranda thrust against her, Andrea bit her lip and tightened her leg around Miranda. The brunette was panting as her sex was stretched open for Miranda’s exploration. “We are going home together, Andrea.” Adjusting her fingers, Miranda grunted as she used the motion of her hips to press with greater force against her lover. Andrea’s head fell back as her body rocked and arched against Miranda’s. Kissing her throat and then biting down on it, Miranda let her thumb press against Andrea’s clit.  
  
Soon Andrea’s hands were pushing Miranda away as her sex clenched with powerful, surging aftershocks deep inside over and over again. After her body had shaken many times as little explosions went off inside her over and over, Andrea panted out. “Wanna touch you.” Lazily she kissed Miranda’s shoulder and then her cheek, while she was still coming down from her release.  
  
Pressing forward, Miranda rolled Andrea on her back. Amused at Andrea’s whimpering complaint, Miranda pulled her fingers away from their teasing place against Andrea’s desire. She kissed her lover then to help her overcome the shift in their circumstances. When Miranda rose up on her knees, Andrea smiled in a lust filled daze as her lover scrambled closer to her. Reaching out, Andrea frowned when Miranda smacked her hand away. “I’m not done with you.” Miranda growled as she turned around at the head of the bed knocking pillows to the floor.  
  
As Miranda lowered her leg over Andrea’s face, she could feel the smile against her nether lips. Choosing her arm position, Miranda nearly fell on her lover as Andrea’s hands firmly grasped her hips pulling her down so that she could feast. Miranda’s spine rolled from her sex up to the back of her neck and back as she reveled in the sensations of Andrea’s tongue teasing along her folds, dipping into the sensitive opening of her sex, and then pressing firmly against her clit. Following along, Miranda lowered her face down until she could return the attentions she was being given. Andrea kept her hand almost painfully on Miranda’s hip guiding her up and down where she wanted her. After many minutes she brought her arm inside Miranda’s leg so that she could better touch her lover as she focused on her protruding clit. In no time at all, Miranda was moaning and sloppily licking Andrea. Andrea wasn’t sure whether it was Miranda’s release that took her over the edge or the vibrations of her howling against her already swollen sex. In any case, she was howling right along with her.  
  
Pulling her lover back into her arms for a night of sweet snuggling before going home, Andrea thought that it didn’t matter—it was always Miranda that brought her joy and she didn’t need further details. They were going home together.  


 

  
**_The End_**  


 

x


End file.
